Brick Lane Book

Brick Lane book characters

Brick Lane brings forth many dynamic and well-rounded characters. They are both deeply flawed and complicated but are simultaneously human and therefore sympathise-able.

Brick Lane book summary

Brick Lane is a fiction novel that has been categorised as literary fiction. It’s a contemporary novel that focuses on Muslim communities and so it is often classed as British Immigrant fiction. Brick Lane stands out as a novel in its exploration of the lives of Muslim women who have immigrated to England as well as those who have stayed in Bangladesh.

Chapters One - Three

The novel starts in 1967 in a small village in Bangladesh. Rupban gives birth to her first daughter Nazneen, under unexpected circumstances of premature labour. As a baby, Nazneen is delicate and weak. A few years later, Rubpan and her husband Hamid have their second daughter Hasina.

Despite their similar age, Nazneen and Hasina have polar opposite personalities. Nazneen’s father Hamid chooses a husband for her, a man named Chanu who is much older than her and quite unattractive.

The setting later shifts to London in the year 1985. Nazneen has joined Chanu to live in their apartment located in a working-class neighbourhood of East London. Being halfway across the world from her family, Nazneen feels alone and isolated in her new home.

Hasina chooses to marry Malek, a man that she has fallen in love with (her marriage is on opposite terms to Nazneen's) despite her parents’ refusal. Hasina communicates with Nazneen through a series of letters, and they keep up to date with each other’s lives this way.

Chapters Four - Six

Chanu often speculates about how he can advance his career and become more established and respected in the community. Many of Chanu’s ambitions are unrealistic but he is too lost in the pursuit of frivolous goals to see the truth of his situation.

Nazneen becomes friends with Razia, a woman of Bangladeshi descent and of similar age. Razia often gossips about people in the local community with Nazneen, she even conspires that Mrs. Islam is a secret loan shark, which causes anxiety for Nazneen. Razia is soon faced with the devastating news about the death of her husband in a workplace accident.

Chapters Seven - Nine

In 2001, Nazneen has two daughters, Shahana and Bibi, whom she raises in the same East London flat. The family struggles to make ends meet since Chanu struggles to hold down a job. Nazneen suggests that she could work by sewing clothes, Chanu is reluctant at first but finally agrees and purchases a sewing machine.

Chanu’s ambitions of living as a wealthy and respected citizen have been crushed at this point and his financial situation has become desperate. He settles with a new job as a cab driver. A young man named Karim begins delivering fabric to the flat.

Chapters Ten - Thirteen

One day Karim invites Nazneen to a political meeting, which leads to the formation of a political group named the Bengal Tigers. The group preach social advocacy and aim to support the community, but it’s driven by underlying anger towards racist groups.

With his new job as a cab driver, Chanu is rarely at home, which creates a much calmer atmosphere for Nazneen and her daughters. One day Chanu finds racist pamphlets at his front door which strengthens his resolve to leave London.

The Bengal Tigers elected Karim as their chairman, he takes his role seriously and is respected by the community. After the meeting, Karim meets Nazneen in her flat where one thing leads to another and they make love for the first time.

Chapters Fourteen - Sixteen

Optimistic and joyful about returning to his homeland, Chanu decides to take the family or a sightseeing trip around London. He becomes increasingly desperate for money, which makes Nazneen realise that perhaps for the first time, Chanu is actually serious about a goal of his.

Nazneen can’t stop thinking about Karim, her mixed emotions about him keep her emotionally unstable. She feels a deep sense of shame for breaking the rules of her religion while at the same time, she feels intense happiness when she is with Karim. Nazneen's feelings of guilt eventually cause her to collapse after having a breakdown.

The Bengal Tigers group begins to stagnate, so Karim arranges another meeting in hopes of reigniting the group.

The entire Brick Lane community was in shock after hearing the news of the events which took place on September 11 2001, which provoked a strong anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK.

Chapters Seventeen - Twenty one

People in the Brick Lane community become angry after a local Bangladeshi boy is stabbed. Karim is interested in the opportunity to organise a march to protest the stabbing. Shortly after, an anti-Muslim protest is organised by an English nationalist group. In response, Karim arranges a meeting for the Bengal Tigers, which Nazneen and Chanu choose to attend.

Fig. 1 - Nazneen sewing to earn a living

Nazneen lets Karim know that his marriage proposal isn't realistic and she doesn't believe it would be successful. Nazneen recalls memories of her mother and how she often concealed her issues and rarely spoke about them.

Chanu decides to borrow money from Dr Azad to pay for the aeroplane tickets to Bangladesh. Chanu is determined and ready for the move, he has even planned out his entry into the soap business once he arrives.

Nazneen and her daughters chose to stay in the UK, leaving Chanu to fly out alone. Nazneen starts working for Razia in her sewing business to support the family. Despite not having a man to support her anymore, Nazneen cherishes her independence and is hopeful about the future.

Brick Lane: themes and analysis

The themes in Brick Lane demonstrate the text's genre as a postcolonial novel because they explore the impact of British Imperialism on countries such as Bangladeshi.

• Identity: The novel explores the concept of identity and how it is shaped by various factors such as culture, heritage, and personal experiences. The protagonist, Nazneen, struggles with her identity as a Bangladeshi immigrant living in London, and her journey to discover her true self forms a central theme of the novel.
• Cultural Clash: The clash between different cultures is another major theme in the novel. Nazneen's arrival in London exposes her to a new way of life that is vastly different from her traditional upbringing in Bangladesh. She faces the challenge of navigating this new culture and finding a balance between her old and new way of life.
• The Immigrant Experience: Brick Lane also explores the experiences of immigrants in a new country, including the challenges they face in adapting to a new way of life, the discrimination they may encounter, and the sense of dislocation and alienation that often accompanies the immigrant experience.
• Gender Roles: The novel also examines the traditional gender roles that are prevalent in Bangladeshi society and how they are challenged by the changing times and new environments. Nazneen's relationship with her husband, Chanu, and her growing independence throughout the novel reflect the shifting gender roles and expectations of women in both Bangladeshi and Western societies.
• The Role of Community: Community and the sense of belonging are significant themes in the novel. The close-knit Bangladeshi community in Brick Lane provides a sense of comfort and familiarity for Nazneen, but it also poses challenges and limitations as she struggles to find her place within it.

Brick Lane: quotes

Here are some of the most vivid and descriptive quotes from Brick Lane, each of which gives us insight into the psychology, emotions and character development of its characters, especially the protagonist Nazneen. They also introduce us to the dominant themes and ideas of Ali's book, such as gender inequality, religion and the intersection between Bangladeshi and British cultures.

This quote illustrates how Nazneen described herself when she walked around London for the first time. Despite walking through streets full of people and traffic she still feels invisible to some extent. The rush of city life means that everyone is preoccupied with their own lives, and has no concern for a low-status woman of colour.

This moment was a stark reminder for Nazneen that she was no longer in her small hometown village in Bangladesh. This sense of anonymity also helps Nazneen feel free in a way she isn’t used to, she can move independently through the city and no one can stop her from doing so.

This quote is Rupban’s response to a question from Nazneen about her father. This quote illustrates the typical gender roles that exist in Bangladesh, where men typically have the freedom to live how they want and can assert their power while women live in the shadows and lead private lives in their homes. Nazneen lived to the standard of these gender roles for most of her life by being subservient and accepting the command of the men in her life, whether it be her father or her husband.

Alternatively, Hasina is more rebellious and lives her life to her standards but this doesn't end well. Hasina soon learns to accept that her position as a woman in Bangladesh means that she is often powerless and her life is controlled by men- her struggle to become financially independent supports this point.

This is a quote that Chanu says to Nazneen after he purchases a sewing machine for her to start working with. It reveals Chanu’s ignorance about the work that women have to do and that it requires skill and hard work. He thinks that he deserves praise for doing the hard work of buying the sewing machine when in reality Nazneen will have to spend hours working so she can earn money for the family.

Fig. 2 - Nazneen and Karim talking in the kitchen

This quote describes how Nazneen felt after ending her affair with Karim. She realises that the love she thought had for him was illusory because it was built on her idea of Karim being her perfect lover, instead of seeing him as he truly is. In many ways, Karim represents the antithesis of Chanu for Nazneen, since he is youthful and optimistic. Entering the relationship was a choice Nazneen could make herself, unlike her marriage to Chanu.

Karim’s interest in Nazneen was based on his idealisation of her as a pure and unspoilt village girl from his motherland, which stopped him from seeing her as an individual with her own outlook on life.

Their lack of communication meant that they both projected ideals on each other that didn’t exist, and their affection for each other came crashing down after they realised it.