Jennifer R. (cucina1520) reviewed on + 38 more book reviews
I should know better by now. If I see a film advertisement, just rent the film. No, I'd heard about this book for years now and figured, oh, I'll just read it first and then do the film afterward.
Two sisters from Bangladesh (elder Nazneen and younger Hasina) marry and leave their home country. Nazneen's arranged marriage to Chanu, twenty years her senior, takes her to a flat in London's Tower Hamlets. Hasina marries for love to a man whose first-rate job with the railroad seems an assurance of future wealth and decent times. However, each woman experiences myriad problems within the scope of their marriage, and does her best to find a way to be content with the path they follow in life.
I firmly believe this would be a fine film. As a novel, I found it to be a slow read, bogging down with details about the furniture in the flat, the annoying neighbors upon whom Nazneen relies for cultural community and "friendship", the letters between herself and Hasina revealing small yet very important details of life. Frankly, I felt bored and annoyed. Perhaps these emotions are intentional by the author. I stopped around page fifty.
Update: After further reflection, I picked this back up and continued reading all the way to the end. I feel what the author accomplished in 415 pages could have been told in just as rich a way in half the amount of pages. Still, though, I struggled to get past Nazneen's plodding existence in London, which could have been anywhere at all, and was probably the point the author was making. I could envision this family's life as a play-- stark sets, depressing attitudes and lack of positive actions from the family (despite best laid plans) and some odd characters thrown in for friends.
Two sisters from Bangladesh (elder Nazneen and younger Hasina) marry and leave their home country. Nazneen's arranged marriage to Chanu, twenty years her senior, takes her to a flat in London's Tower Hamlets. Hasina marries for love to a man whose first-rate job with the railroad seems an assurance of future wealth and decent times. However, each woman experiences myriad problems within the scope of their marriage, and does her best to find a way to be content with the path they follow in life.
I firmly believe this would be a fine film. As a novel, I found it to be a slow read, bogging down with details about the furniture in the flat, the annoying neighbors upon whom Nazneen relies for cultural community and "friendship", the letters between herself and Hasina revealing small yet very important details of life. Frankly, I felt bored and annoyed. Perhaps these emotions are intentional by the author. I stopped around page fifty.
Update: After further reflection, I picked this back up and continued reading all the way to the end. I feel what the author accomplished in 415 pages could have been told in just as rich a way in half the amount of pages. Still, though, I struggled to get past Nazneen's plodding existence in London, which could have been anywhere at all, and was probably the point the author was making. I could envision this family's life as a play-- stark sets, depressing attitudes and lack of positive actions from the family (despite best laid plans) and some odd characters thrown in for friends.
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