amazon:
Still in her teenage years, Nazneen finds herself in an arranged marriage with a disappointed man who is twenty years older. Away from the mud and heat of 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. But unlike him she is practical and wise, and befriends a fellow Asian girl Razia, who helps her understand the strange ways of her adopted new British home.

Nazneen keeps in touch with her sister Hasina back in the village. But the rebellious Hasina has kicked against cultural tradition and run off in a 'love marriage' with the man of her dreams. When he suddenly turns violent, she is forced into the degrading job of garment girl in a cloth factory.

Confined in her flat by tradition and family duty, Nazneen also 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.

Strikingly imagined, gracious and funny, this novel is at once epic and intimate. Exploring the role of Fate in our lives - those who accept it; those who defy it - it traces the extraordinary transformation of an Asian girl, from cautious and shy to bold and dignified woman.

I started to read the book a long time ago but unfortunately I never finished it.

The Book has been sitting much too long on my shelf now, it's time for it to move on.
We're off to Oxford, for the Bookcrossing Convention!

Picked up at the 2015 Oxford International Convention

I found this book a bit hard going however excellent. I really liked the ending. When I first moved to London, I lived and worked right at the end of Brick lane and waked through the roads beside the estate many many times in the 2 years I lived there. I used to be able to watch the Indian people walking behind our house from our upstairs lounge and was fascinated to see the women walking behind the men. At this stage I didn't know anything about the Indian/Asian culture in London and presumed all were pretty much the same. I now know better. I am really glad I read this book, although it is very intense and frequently sad.

Going as a tag in the wishlist tag game.

Fabulous jax ! You managed to get it mailed from France and avoided me the Customs fees.
Thank you too for the beautiful mill, in Ivry sur Seine !