A subtly woven tale

An immigrant world teeming with secrets, hostility and love is the setting Monica Ali chose for her debut novel "Brick Lane." \nWriting about the denizens of the east side of London, Ali manages to bring the oft-overlooked people living in and around Brick Lane, a British neighborhood, to a vibrant life. Short-listed for the 2003 Man Booker prize, "Brick Lane" is already a smash success in the U.K. among readers and critics alike, and it transcends the local London flavor to become a truly universal tale of love, sacrifice and duty.\n"Brick Lane" follows the life of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi girl who, at the tender age of 18, was arranged to be married to Chanu, a Bangladeshi man who had immigrated to London. Despite the fact that Chanu is twice her age and they have never met, Nazneen bows to her fate and flies to England and her new life. Her sister, Hasina, who Nazneen left in Bangladesh, believes she is leaving the poverty of Bangladesh for life in a promised land.\nWhat Nazneen finds, however, is not the promised land that she and others were led to believe London was. Her home became a dusty, dingy council-owned flat in a high-rise. Her husband, despite his talk, is nothing but a blowhard with more ideas than action. Nazneen, always the devout Muslim, is determined to accept her life as it is.\nHowever, this is not to say that Nazneen always accepted her fate without resistance. She begins to rebel in small ways. For example, she refuses to eat in front of her husband, instead opting for hurried meals over the sink in the middle of the night. Nazneen stops cleaning, hoping her husband will notice -- until she became so disgusted with the mess that she breaks down before Chanu bats an eye.\nNazneen grows over the years to have affection for her husband, if not love. They have two girls together after the trauma of their first son dying as an infant. They build a life together in London, despite Chanu's constant disappointment with his professional life. Life is comfortable and predictable -- until Karim enters.\nKarim, Nazneen's contact for a sewing piecework, is also a political rabble-rouser. Feeling threatened by a group of English nationalists living in the neighborhood, Karim attempts to unify the Bangladeshis into a political force. His drive draws in Nazneen like a moth to the flame, and the pair embark on a passionate affair.\nHowever, not everything can remain as it is. After the Sept. 11 attack, Karim's plans for unified Muslim politics are threatened. Chanu's dream of returning to Bangladesh is realized -- but not the way he envisioned. Nazneen's world is turned upside down. A bittersweet end, it is a fitting conclusion to an emotionally sophisticated novel.\nLike the colorful saris worn by the Bangladeshi women of London, "Brick Lane" carefully and subtly weaves the vibrant characters together into a beautiful fabric of a story. The characters, from the buffoon Chanu to the firebrand Karim, are all excellently crafted -- the men and women described in this novel could easily be the person sitting next to you on the tube or bus. "Brick Lane" carefully explores Muslim politics post-9-11, both as a unified group and within the community, all while weaving a beautiful tale. An engrossing, subtle novel, "Brick Lane" is worth the trip to London.\n"Brick Lane" has a list price of $14 and is available at www.amazon.com.