Brick Lane was by far my favorite novel that we read for this class. I cannot wait to go back for some authentic Bangladeshi food, especially after reading Brick Lane because the descriptions made my mouth water. Speaking of food, I love how Ali uses food as a device in the novel to express the emotional complexity of Nazneen and also how she uses food as power. Nazneen knew that Chanu hated it when she would eat very little at dinner, and so she would wait until he was asleep to eat just to annoy him, among other things like neglecting chores or putting too much hot spices in his lunches. Also, and this is just my interpretation, but I think that during the day, she was often weighed down by everything she couldn’t control. There were many times when her mind would wander and she would snap out of it like one would wake up from a dream, and then she would just move on to the next chore without coming to any resolution. So, during the day, all the stress would build and build, and when she would lie down at night, they would invade her consciousness and she couldn’t sleep. So, she would get out the leftovers and eat until the comfort of food calmed her. I also like the detail about how she stands up to eat. Personally, I usually eat standing up if I’m homes alone because sitting down at a table just reinforces the fact that I’m eating alone, and I don’t enjoy my meal as much. Nazneen feels alone in the novel because her lack of real relationships, and I think mealtime is just an emotional thing for her, and she uses it to feel like she has control over something. I was very excited to go to Brick Lane, but I NEED to go back and really experience it because I really did fall in love with the novel and want to see more of Bangladeshi culture in London.