Book info

• Title Monica Ali
• Author Monica Ali
• Year 2003
• Genre Contemporary

Still in her teenage years, Nazneen finds herself in an arranged marriage with a disappointed older man. Away from her Bangladeshi village, home is now a cramped flat in a high-rise block in London's East End. Nazneen knows not a word of English, and is forced to depend on her husband. Confined in her tiny flat, Nazneen sews furiously for a living, shut away with her buttons and linings - until the radical Karim steps unexpectedly into her life. On a background of racial conflict and tension, they embark on a love affair that forces Nazneen finally to take control of her fate.

Thoughts

This is one of those books that is engaging and really draws you in to a world… but actually once you’re out the other side of it, it’s hard to say what actually happened. I listened to the audiobook which was wonderfully read by Meera Syal, and it was engrossing to hear about the difficulties for immigrants of trying to fit in alongside all the different societal pressures from their own culture and the one they’re trying to adapt to. It was well written, and well read, but I don’t know if I ultimately liked it.

Rating: 3 / 5