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In ways that no other writing of the New Testament has achieved, the ideas expressed in the letter to the Romans have shaped formatively the whole of Christian belief. William Barclay's fresh translation and clear exposition allows readers the chance to see the heart of Paul's gospel. For almost fifty years and for millions of readers, the Daily Study Bible commentaries have been the ideal help for both devotional and serious Bible study. Now, with the release of the New Daily Study Bible, a new generation will appreciate the wisdom of William Barclay. With clarification of less familiar illustrations and inclusion of more contemporary language, the New Daily Study Bible will continue to help individuals and groups discover what the message of the New Testament really means for their lives.… (more)
User reviews
Nazneen settles into her new life and starts making friends within her community, including a spirited young woman called Razia who works from home making clothing. Nazneen longs to do the same but Chanu is not keen. Eventually he relents and buys Nazneen a sewing machine – he is keen for the family to return “home” to Bangladesh and knows the extra money will eventually help him realise this ambition.
Life plods along for Nazneen, Chanu and their two girls, Shahana and Bibi until the eventful day on 11 September 2011 when the attacks on America take place and life suddenly changes. The area becomes one of unrest where cultures who have rubbed along okay suddenly become wary of each other. Nazneen finds herself unwittingly drawn to the man who brings the clothing to her flat, Karim as he gathers the Bangladeshi community together to decide how to defend themselves against attacks on their culture, whilst Chanu desperately makes plans for the family to leave the country – but Nazeen, Shahana and Bibi aren’t going to go without a fight…
Brick Lane is mostly set in London (well, d'uh!) but there is some of it set in Bangladesh. I think I'd have preferred a bit more of Bangladesh in it to experience the culture in situ, so to speak, but the reader does at least experience some of this in the regular correspondence from Nazneen’s sister Hasina, who ran away for a ‘love match’ which went wrong and now, shamed and unable to return to the village, lives life as best she can in difficult circumstances.
Reading about it on Wikipedia now there was a lot of controversy about it and the way Bengali people were portrayed but I think most readers are intelligent enough to know that the characters are stereotypical rather than typical. I really enjoyed this book – the writing and the characters – and was sorry when it came to an end.