The literary debut of a huge storytelling talent and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Monica Ali was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and grew up in England. She is the author of Untold Story, In The Kitchen and Alentejo Blue. Her Sunday Times bestselling first novel Brick Lane was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the George Orwell Prize for political writing and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and has been made into an acclaimed film. Her latest novel Love Marriage is published by Virago.
'Ali has an impressive command of her story, but her real gift is
in the richness of the lives she has created, populating Nazneen's
London with a very entertaining cast of comic characters'
*The Times*
'I was totally gripped by Brick Lane. A brilliant evocation of
sensuality which might occur anywhere'
*Daily Telegraph*
'Written with a wisdom and skill that few authors attain in a
lifetime'
*The Sunday Times*
'Comedy and poignancy abound...Brick Lane is a wonderful debut'
*Sunday Telegraph*
'Brick Lane has everything: richly complex characters, a gripping
story and it's funny too'
*Observer*
'Monica Ali brings humour, grace and the special qualities of the
best of Asian fiction to a narrative concerned with acceptance and
denial...Wry and intelligent, subtle and graceful in its mix of
formal prose, blackly despairing humour and fabulous
characterization, this is a rich human novel'
*Irish Times*
'The kind of novel that surprises one with its depth and dash; it
is a novel that will last'
*Guardian*
'A wonderful first novel. Ali's writing is stunning, almost poetic
at times, and she has a beautifully inventive turn of phrase'
*Mail on Sunday*
'This highly evolved, accomplished book is a reminder of how
exhilarating novels can be: it opened up a world whose contours I
could recognize, but which I needed Monica Ali to make me
understand'
*Observer*
'So uplifting as well as so important'
*Daily Telegraph*
'Ali's observations of Nazneen, her family and friends, is precise,
true and can only emanate out of deep empathy, the quality that
gives this first novel its warmth and humour...Ali writes with such
confidence and with the kind of control a much more experienced
novelist would envy'
*Independent*
'Written with effortless style and amazing aplomb for a
first-timer. Believe the hype. Monica Ali really is the Next Big
Thing. If you buy only one book this year, make it this one'
*The Mirror*
'Splendid...Daring...Brilliant...Refreshing...A great achievement
of the subtlest storytelling'
*New Republic*
'The author's powers of observation are magnificent, placing Ali
among Britain's greatest writers, never mind young or old'
*Spectator*
'Ali aims for the grandest themes of literature: of love, of
individuality, of finding and risking the space to grow, of
self-sufficiency, of negotiating co-existence...the biggest
surprise about Brick Lane is that it works'
*Sunday Express, India*
'The joy of this book is its marriage of a wonderful writer with a
fresh, rich and hidden world. Her achievement is huge. This is a
book written with love and compassion'
*Evening Standard*
Most coming-of-age novels focus on an adolescent learning about life and love for the first time. Ali's debut shows that a 34-year-old mother of two can discover the joys and pains of growing up as well as any youngster. From the moment of her birth in Bangladesh, Nazneen has let fate determine her life-fate presented her with an arranged marriage to a ne'er-do-well, two battling daughters, and a run-down apartment in a London public housing project. Slowly, she wakes up to the world beyond her flat, first acquiring a job, then a lover, and finally her own voice. The reader, too, wakes up to a world where women are still at the mercy of men through culture, economics, religion, and complicity. Ali has the distinction of being selected as one of Britain's best young novelists by Granta magazine before her novel was even published; the judges chose well. Hers is a refreshing glimpse into the everyday lives of families seeking balance between tradition and the demands of the wider world. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
'Ali has an impressive command of her story, but her real gift is
in the richness of the lives she has created, populating Nazneen's
London with a very entertaining cast of comic characters' * The
Times *
'I was totally gripped by Brick Lane. A brilliant evocation of
sensuality which might occur anywhere' * Daily Telegraph *
'Written with a wisdom and skill that few authors attain in a
lifetime' * The Sunday Times *
'Comedy and poignancy abound...Brick Lane is a wonderful debut' *
Sunday Telegraph *
'Brick Lane has everything: richly complex characters, a gripping
story and it's funny too' * Observer *
'Monica Ali brings humour, grace and the special qualities of the
best of Asian fiction to a narrative concerned with acceptance and
denial...Wry and intelligent, subtle and graceful in its mix of
formal prose, blackly despairing humour and fabulous
characterization, this is a rich human novel' * Irish Times *
'The kind of novel that surprises one with its depth and dash; it
is a novel that will last' * Guardian *
'A wonderful first novel. Ali's writing is stunning, almost poetic
at times, and she has a beautifully inventive turn of phrase' *
Mail on Sunday *
'This highly evolved, accomplished book is a reminder of how
exhilarating novels can be: it opened up a world whose contours I
could recognize, but which I needed Monica Ali to make me
understand' * Observer *
'So uplifting as well as so important' * Daily Telegraph *
'Ali's observations of Nazneen, her family and friends, is precise,
true and can only emanate out of deep empathy, the quality that
gives this first novel its warmth and humour...Ali writes with such
confidence and with the kind of control a much more experienced
novelist would envy' * Independent *
'Written with effortless style and amazing aplomb for a
first-timer. Believe the hype. Monica Ali really is the Next Big
Thing. If you buy only one book this year, make it this one' * The
Mirror *
'Splendid...Daring...Brilliant...Refreshing...A great achievement
of the subtlest storytelling' * New Republic *
'The author's powers of observation are magnificent, placing Ali
among Britain's greatest writers, never mind young or old' *
Spectator *
'Ali aims for the grandest themes of literature: of love, of
individuality, of finding and risking the space to grow, of
self-sufficiency, of negotiating co-existence...the biggest
surprise about Brick Lane is that it works' * Sunday Express, India
*
'The joy of this book is its marriage of a wonderful writer with a
fresh, rich and hidden world. Her achievement is huge. This is a
book written with love and compassion' * Evening Standard *
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