***As dramatised on BBC Radio Four***

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
THE SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A RICHARD AND JUDY PICK

'Written with a wisdom and skill that few authors attain in a lifetime' SUNDAY TIMES

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.

A GRANTA BEST OF BRITISH YOUNG NOVELIST
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD

'A brilliant evocation of sensuality' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A novel that will last' GUARDIAN
'Highly evolved and accomplished' OBSERVER

Reader's love for BRICK LANE:
'Memorable and gripping' *****
'The kind of book that changes your perception of the world' *****
'This has become a classic and i can see why'*****
'Funny, sharp and very touching' *****

The literary debut of a huge storytelling talent

About the Author
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.

Reviews
'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 *


Awards
Short-listed for Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2003.



Book Information
ISBN 9780552771153
Author Monica Ali
Format Paperback
Page Count 512
Imprint Black Swan
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 346g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 127mm * 30mm