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Monica Ali is able to capture  the sense of discombobulation felt by both both first generation immigrants; whether it is the Shakespeare-loving Chanu, who on the one hand sees himself as a lover of English literature, a sensitive, educated and artistically minded man who missed his calling as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, but on the hand deeply feels the deep-seated prejudices he experiences in Britain and begins to hate the modernity taking over the country, a kind of walking contradiction he harks after an idyllic British past which never existed, yet resents the Westernisation of a Bengali culture which he, outside a love of Tagore, he is never really a part on.  On the other hand is his wife Nazneen, or whom marriage at first is a kind of trap-for all his profession for being a liberal, Chanu represents some of the worst aspects of misogyny of  first generation Bangladeshi immigrants; rarely allowed to leave the house, not given permission to be educated, Nazneen feels trapped in a country she not only cannot, but is not allowed to comprehend. On top of this she feels emotionally stifled by becoming a sounding board for Chanu's frequently sententious rambles which she is unable to fully comprehend. Gradually she is able to gain a sense of self, culminating in an affair with the energetic if somewhat mediocre Karim; this acts as a catalyst for her self-actualisation, that she is able to, for the first time in her life, treated as a fully rounded human being and able to experience emotions outside the sense of obedience expected of her, that she is no longer just a daughter, wife or sister but a woman with her own sense of independence. Naturally, like her early attempts at marital rebellion when Chanu rejects her request for her sister to move to England, her affair goes un-noticed by her husband who meanders through life labouring under a series of illusions, blind to what is going on around him. It is difficult to describe the relationship which exists between the two, Chanu, despite the bluster and blindness seems to genuinely care for Nazneen, likewise Nazneen, despite the occasional sense of disgust she feels for him, seems to value the innate sense of kindness in Chanu, the sense of comfort he brings. In many ways Ali describes the emotions which marriages, especially arranged ones, often bring; comfort and convenience.

 The secondary characters who inhabit the novel, from Chanu and Nazneen's daughters Shahana and Bibi to Mrs Islam help add depth to the novel-most of the secondary characters represent an important part of the immigrant experience, whether it be clashes with narrow-minded nationalists or acclimatising to life as a second-generation Bangladeshi girl in London, 'Brick Lane' is a nuanced and well-written depiction of two generations of a Bangladeshi family in a fast-changing world.