Brick Lane by Monica Ali is about a Bangladeshi woman, her arranged marriage, her move to England and subsequent struggle to adjust, and the process of determining who she is/ who she wants to be/ who she can be.
Some books are self-consciously multicultural. Reading them, I get the feeling they're only in print because the editor thinks multiculturalism is so hot that an exotic looking cover and a few non-English words sprinkled throughout the text is enough to sell the book.
Brick Lane is nothing like that. For one thing, the author is subtle. She shows instead of tells. Also, Monica Ali is from Bangladesh and lives in England, which may account for the book's authentic feel.
Nearly all the characters are Muslim. I was fascinated with the religious dilemmas the characters experience living in a modern, predominately non-Muslim society. Some of the issues were very familiar to me as a Christian.
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