Happy New Year 2013

As promised, my attempt to blog again thus year even if just to recap the day and my photo of the day! Christmas decorations were carefully packed away and the tree untrimmed. Darcy and Benny hauled it off to the sports court for chipping. Even the outdoor lights came down - Chinese New Year red lights stayed up and lanterns were hung. Not much else - late start to the day after our New Year's Eve wine tasting party at Sharon and Tino's - fun in a never done before way. The food was so rich and delicious - an indulgent feast!
Finished reading Monica Ali's debut novel Brick Lane - will review at Goodreads in the morning.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a bit of difficult time with this book - not that it was not interesting which it was. It was different to read a book from a muslim Indian perspective as most Indian books are predominantly Hindu-focused, and the author did a wonderful job portraying the community with its myriad of people finding their "new" lives in London, and yet imposing and maintaining their culture upon the present by dwelling on the past. My difficulty had to do with how I felt about the main protagonist Nazneen and her actions. At times I had a great affinity for her, admired her resolve but then I questioned her actions and her involvement (no spoilers). I had a great deal of sympathy for her husband and for all his flaws he was a good man, albeit living in his own world of rights and wrongs. The atmosphere of living in the council flats and the whole immigrant attitude was very well written. At the end of it all, the decisions what were made worked for everyone - the whole other story with the errant sister back in Bangladesh served well as a life comparison for the two sisters and the choices that they made.

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