Monica Ali (; born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English descent. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'' based on her unpublished manuscript; her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

'', was published later that year. It was shortlisted for the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. It was adapted as a 2007 film of the same name. She has also published four other novels. Her fifth novel, ''Love Marriage'', was published by

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British femin ...

in February 2022 and became an instant ''Sunday Times'' bestseller. Ali was appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2024 Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Charles III, King Charles III to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to literature.

Early life and education

Ali was born in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(now Bangladesh), 1967 to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother. When she was three, her family moved to

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, England. Her father is originally from the district of

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

. She went to

Bolton School Bolton School is a private day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery (ages 0–4), co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including ...

and then studied philosophy, politics and economics at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

''Brick Lane''

is a street at the heart of London's Bangladeshi community. Ali's 2003 novel of the same name follows the life of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi woman who moves to London at the age of 18, to marry an older man, Chanu. They live in London Borough of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

. At first her English consists only of ''sorry'' and ''thank you''; the novel explores her life and adaptations in the community, as well as the character of Chanu, and their larger ethnic community. An additional narrative strand covers the experiences of Nazneen's sister, Hasina, through the device of her correspondence.

Reception

Upon release, ''Brick Lane'' was generally well-received among the British press and was listed as a bestseller by ''The Daily Telegraph'' for two weeks. In the November/December 2003 issue of ''

Bookmarks A bookmark is used to keep one's place in a printed work. It can also refer to: * Bookmark (digital), a pointer in a web browser and other software * ''Bookmarks'' (album), 2013 album by Five for Fighting * ''Bookmarks'' (magazine), an American ...

'', the book was scored 3.5 out of 5 stars. '' The Herald'' assessed reviews as the "critical thermometer" of "Hot". The magazine's verdict reads: "Ali displays the lightest touch. Her descriptions of teenage moodiness, of young men's braggadocio, and mid-life disillusion, of family outings and women's shopping trips, are acute, original, and loving". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' described Chanu as "one of the novel's foremost miracles: twice her age, with a face like a frog, a tendency to quote

Hume Hume most commonly refers to: * David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher Hume may also refer to: People * Hume (surname) * Hume (given name) * James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist In fiction * Hume, t ...

and the boundless doomed optimism of the self-improvement junkie, he is both exasperating and, to the reader at least, enormously loveable."

Geraldine Bedell Geraldine Bedell is a British novelist and writer for ''The Observer''. She drew wide public attention when she claimed she had been disinvited from a planned appearance at the first International Festival of Literature in Dubai, because her no ...

wrote in ''The Observer'' that the "most vivid image of the marriage is of her azneencutting her husband's corns, a task she seems required to perform with dreadful regularity. er husbandis pompous and kindly, full of plans, none of which ever come to fruition, and then of resentment at Ignorant Types who don't promote him or understand his quotations from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

or his

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

race, ethnicity and class module." ''Brick Lane'' was well received by critics in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was shortlisted for the

. However, the novel provoked controversy within the Bangladeshi community in Britain. Some groups thought Ali had negatively portrayed people from the

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

, as they constitute the majority of the Bangladeshi immigrants living in the

community.

Film adaptation

When production was underway in 2006, some of the Bangladeshi community opposed Ruby Films' intention to film parts of the novel in the Brick Lane area. They formed the Campaign Against Monica Ali's Film ''Brick Lane''. There were also demonstrations against the filming of Brick Lane by the Bangladeshi community in Brick Lane due to the films negative and stereotyped portrayal of the area and the Bangladeshi community more broadly, and as Sociologist Claire Alexander argues, due to it ignoring the areas rich, layered, and subaltern histories in favour of viewing the area through a essentialist, racialised, and prejudiced lens. The writer and activist

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and feminist, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literature, she ...

expressed support for the campaign, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

:''

As British people know little and care less about the Bangladeshi people in their midst, their first appearance as characters in an English novel had the force of a defining caricature ... me of the Sylhetis of Brick Lane did not recognise themselves.
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s smart under an
Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
prejudice that they are irreligious and disorderly, the impure among the pure, and here was a proto-Bengali writer with a Muslim name, portraying them as all of that and more.

Greer criticised Monica Ali's "lack of authenticity", as she had never spent much time in the Brick Lane community, and no longer spoke the

Bengali language Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...

fluently. The writer

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

criticised Greer for getting involved, saying that her statements were "philistine, sanctimonious, and disgraceful, but ... not unexpected."

''Love Marriage''

After a ten-year hiatus, during which Ali suffered a "loss of confidence" according to an interview in ''

'', she returned with her fifth novel, ''Love Marriage''. Described in ''The Times''' culture section as a "literary love story", the book is set in London in 2016–2017, and tells the story of Yasmin Ghorami, a 26-year-old junior doctor, who is engaged to be married to fellow doctor, Joe Sangster. In the same article, journalist Rosie Kinchen argues that we are living in "a time when feelings are so fraught and people seem to be itching to taking offence", going on to say "This is precisely why it's a good time to have her back. Nuance is one of Ali's greatest skills; she can lay out a character's flaws, self-delusions and inconsistencies and then make you love them anyway." In a review in ''The'' ''Times Literary Supplement'', novelist Tash Aw described it as a "rich, sensitive and gloriously entertaining novel...brimming with extremely funny moments of excruciating social comedy." Writing in ''The Financial Times'', novelist Susie Boyt called it "wildly entertaining…a bold and generous book". David Sexton in the ''Sunday Times'' concurred, describing ''Love Marriage'' as: 'Enormously satisfying in its inventions and observations, and its exploration of cultural diversity in Britain. At once touching and satirical…engrossing and enjoyable'. Critical responses were overwhelmingly positive, propelling the novel into ''The Sunday Times''' bestseller list in its first week of publication. Ali announced on her website that television rights to ''Love Marriage'' had been sold to New Pictures after a 'heated auction', and that it is currently in development with the BBC. In 2023, ''Love Marriage'' was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize.

Views

Ali opposed the British government's attempt to introduce the

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion. The Act was the Labour Governm ...

. She discussed this in her contribution to ''Free Expression Is No Offence'', a collection of essays published by Penguin in association with English PEN in 2005. Ali coined the term of "marketplace for outrage" in an article in ''

'' in which she gives her response to events around the filming of ''Brick Lane''. From 2015 to 2020, Ali served as a trustee for the Saint Giles Trust, a charity which helps ex-offenders and other marginalised people, and wrote about the need to help newly-released prisoners. In 2020, Ali was appointed Patron of Hopscotch Women's Centre, a charity that was originally set up by

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

to support ethnic minority families who had come to join their partners in the UK. The organisation became independent in 1998 and continues to empower women and girls to achieve their full potential.

Marks & Spencer's campaign

In 2013, Ali was announced as one of several new models for

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

's 'Womanism' campaign. Subtitled "Britain's leading ladies", the campaign saw Ali appear alongside British women from various fields, including pop singer

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

, double Olympic gold medal-winning boxer

Nicola Adams Nicola Virginia Adams OBE (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female flyweight title in 2019. As an ...

, and actress

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

Personal life

Ali lives in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

with her husband, Simon Torrance, a

management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

. They have two children.

Publications

* ''

'' (2003), Doubleday * ''Knife'' (short story), included in ''The Weekenders: Adventures in Calcutta'', Ebury (2004) * ''

The End of the Affair ''The End of the Affair'' is a 1951 novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films (released in 1955 and 1999) that were adapted from the novel. Set in London during and just after the Second World War, the no ...

'' (introduction), Vintage Classics (2004) * ''Free Expression is No Offence'' (essay), English PEN (2005) * ''Alentejo Blue'' (2006), Doubleday * ''

The Painter of Signs ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (introduction), Penguin Classics (2006) * ''

In the Kitchen "In the Kitchen" is a song by R. Kelly, released domestically in 2005 as a double A-side single together with "Trapped in the Closet (Chapter 1)". Both songs are from the studio album '' TP.3 Reloaded''. It also served internationally as the B-si ...

'' (2009), Doubleday * '' Untold Story'' (2011), Scribner * ''Dangerous Edges of Graham Greene'' (afterword), Continuum (2011) * ''Contrary Motion'' (short story), included in ''Closure: Contemporary Black British Short Stories'', Peepal Tree (2015) * ''The Son's Tale'' (essay), included in ''Refugee Tales III'', Comma Press (2019) * ''Love Marriage'' (2022), Little, Brown

References

Notes

Sources

* Saykar, Satish. 'PORTRAYAL OF MUSLIM WOMEN CHARACTERS IN MONICAALI'S BRICK LANE'. Golden Research Thoughts.2013 http://oldgrt.lbp.world/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2242

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''
Biography from the international literature festival berlin

Interview with Monica Ali at Minnesota Public Radio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Monica 1967 births Living people Bangladeshi emigrants to England Bangladeshi people of English descent British people of Bangladeshi descent Bangladeshi women writers Bangladeshi writers British women novelists 21st-century British novelists British Asian writers 21st-century British women writers British Book Award winners Writers from London Writers from Dhaka Writers from Bolton People educated at Bolton School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Alumni of Middlesex University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Commanders of the Order of the British Empire