Brick Lane by Monica Ali Book Review

Synopsis from 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.

My Review:

I chose this book as a precursor to our London Trip over the Thanksgiving holidays.  I found it on a list somewhere on the internet (could not reproduce that link if I tried, perhaps part of the issue :P), but do not feel it was well suited for a first time London trip, mostly focused on the main city sights.  In fact, we did venture through Brick Lane one evening (as part of a Jack the Ripper tour) and were haggled by the bouncers, pushing us and offering discounts to eat in their restaurant.  Word of advice, don’t venture to Brick Lane in London without a restaurant recommendation, perhaps try something that doesn't have bouncers, go for the authentic experience … if there is one!

Back to the book and leaving behind the initial purpose for reading the book…. I still really struggled with this book.  It took a good 75% of the book to have any action; it wasn't until the very end I was compelled to keep reading to learn Nazneen’s choice.  There are large sections in the book that are letters written by Nazneen’s sister, Hasina in broken English.  As I reported previously, it was difficult to make my way through these passages.  At first it’s a nice touch, drawing you into the situation more, but after two letters or so of struggling to understand the real meaning, it’s insufferable.  Within the first extended section of Hasina’s letters, my progress through the book really slowed down.   

The book did have some highlights.  The style of writing Ali uses to describe the love relationship between Nazneen and Karim was unexpectedly beautiful.  The build up to their ‘union’ (so PC!), and the release of their hidden emotions (ugh, I’m terrible!) was poetically written without being cheeky (ha!) or slimy (it was an affair after all!).  I also really appreciated Ali’s development of Nazneen’s first daughter, Shahana, who reminded me of me. I was such a brat to my parents as a child and I wholly admit I had the ‘first child of immigrant parents’ syndrome (perhaps sometimes I still do :)), but I related to this young girl.  I wanted to hug her and tell her that while it sucks, it gets better and that she always had a confidant in me.  I’d like to think I would have sheltered her, protected her from making a regrettable choice.  On the other hand, who are we if we don’t learn from our mistakes and regrets? AH, life…

So, in all … well, shouldn't be a surprise, but I don’t recommend this book whether you are heading to London for the first time or are looking for a new book to read. It’s too slow and heavy for a light-hearted beach-read as well.  

Do you read books before going on vacation to prepare?  This is a relatively recent thing for me and so far I haven't chosen wisely.  How do you pick a book for an upcoming trip?  

On my nightstand...

Last I updated, my planned reads were The Favored Daughter by Fawzia Koofi, Brick Lane by Monica Ali, and The Son by Philipp Meyer.... so here's an update on where have I landed?

The Favored Daughter was the October book club read, I wrote a book review here.

I'm about half way through on this one.  Brick Lane is a book I chose for our upcoming London trip. While I'm not at all sure what makes this a good choice (provided on many online book lists) for a pre-read for a London trip, it's an interesting read, albeit slow.  There are lengthy portions that written in sub-par English from the perspective of the main character's sister who remains in Bangladesh (the main character is in London).  I don't understand why the author chose to use broken English for the sister, but not for the main character who has not managed to learn English despite living in London.  Maybe she did it to create a sense of the distance between them and provide a feeling of separation that can be difficult to achieve in writing.  Regardless, it makes it really difficult to get through these portions of the novel, and hence I find this a slow read.  To my surprise however, the novel has a lot of newer entertainment references that I was not expecting to find, I had the impression that this novel took place in the 1980's or so, but in fact it's more like the early 2000's.  The verdict is out as to whether or not I'll be recommending this one, I feel like I'm still waiting for something to happen... regardless, I intend to finish this novel and report on my thoughts.

The Son has taken a back seat (something always does with my planned reading!).  Instead The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson has been brought forward which was the chosen November read for book club. I'm almost 20% of the way through, and really struggling to get into it.  This novel won a Pulitzer prize and I first heard about it from a book review on NPR so I thought it was would be interesting and intriguing, but instead I'm finding it a bit dull and difficult to get into.  It will be interesting to see what my fellow book club members think, look for a review in the near future on this book too!

What's next?  Probably The Son will creep it's way back onto my list, but I'm also pretty sure my b-day will be bringing new books my way, can't wait to see which ones are coming my way! We'll also be choosing books for the next two months at the November book club meeting, so I'm looking forward to see what's next on our plate!

What interesting books are you reading?  Drop me a line and let me know what's new on your shelf.

Happy Reading!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

Hallelujah, we have an oven!  It's been a long 8 months without an oven and I have to say, I will do my best never to go that long without an oven again!  Here in the Netherlands, these combination unit devices are more common than having a stand alone oven.  While I'm sure there are some higher end brands, the ones I've come across are crap and do not work as a microwave or an oven! I think the Dutch should throw caution to the wind on this one, sacrifice efficiency this time, and throw this combination microwave/oven idea out the window!

So, being a bit more tempered about this, after living for 2 years in Italy without a microwave and only an oven, I was at a loss when I first arrived in the Netherlands with this combination devices.  Cook fish on the stove-top? What?  Well, of course we adapted after a while, but baking things likes cakes, scones, brownies, roasted vegetables were all out the window, it was almost like a whole food group was gone! I'm happy it's back and here's my first recipe I'd like to share with my newly installed oven (credit goes to the hubs for that!).

This recipe is derived from this post, one of the few food blogs I follow regularly.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 cup of pumpkin puree 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups of milk (I used full fat, but the original recipe indicates skim milk will work)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups of rolled oats
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter, if using salted butter leave this out)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves (not the original recipe calls for 1/8, but I like the clove flavor so I doubled it)
• 1/2 cup of chopped nuts (I had pecans, the original recipe calls for walnuts)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven (!) to 350 degrees F (or in my world, 175 degrees C).  Brush a light coating of melted butter onto your baking pan (muffin tin, mini loaf pan or regular loaf pan) or spray with cooking spray and set aside. 
2. In a bowl, combine the melted butter, pumpkin puree, sugar, skim milk, and eggs.  Use a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or use an immersion blender and mix on low to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and the lumps from the pumpkin puree are gone. 
3. Slowly add the rolled oats, baking powder, salt (if using unsalted butter), cinnamon, ginger, and ground cloves mixing well (by hand if not using a standing mixer, on low if using a standing mixer).  
4. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chopped nuts until thoroughly incorporated. 
5. Evenly divide the batter or spoon into the prepared pan and bake until lightly golden.  The muffins/loaves should be springy, about 30 minutes. 

(Not the greatest photo in the world, but a really hearty breakfast.  When it first came out of the oven, we topped it with butter and brown sugar - similar to how I normally eat my oatmeal.  I've been taking it to work now for breakfast or a snake and it's great as is, definitely feels healthy and not very sweet at all. If you want a sweeter treat, up the amount of granulated white sugar or add brown sugar to the mix).  

If you try it and find other variations you like, please drop a note and let me know!  

Buon Appetito!

The Favored Daughter by Fawzia Koofi Book Review

The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future by Fawzia Koofi

Read: September 2013
Source: Book Club Selection for October 2013, recommended by a member
Medium: iPhone and Kindle

The Favored Daughter is a true story and memoir of an Afghani woman, Fawzia Koofi, to surpass cultural expectations and become the first female Speaker of Parliament in Afghanistan (now running for President).

Format thoughts:  Each ‘chapter’ opens with a letter to Mrs. Koofi’s daughters followed by a chapter of real life events that embody a life lesson she often gives in each letter.  I didn't mind this format in the beginning, but towards the end, these letters no longer appeared to be genuine to me... I felt as if they were written for the book, rather than used retrospectively as if they were originally written for her daughters alone.  I’m not sure what the exact story is behind these letters, but this was my impression.  Regardless, these letters allowed Mrs. Koofi to set the scene for each dramatic event in her life that has played a role in the person she is today.  These letters, of course, lend a hand in explaining Mrs. Koofi visions for the future of Afghanistan.  Towards the end, I began to dislike the format.  There was quite a bit of repetition not only in the letters, but also in her desires to change Afghanistan.  The book became preachy in the last chapter, and in my opinion, it could have been wiped from the book. 

I found this book to be educational and inspiring and I recommend you spend the time to read this book. I found myself in disbelief that someone could live and survive in such circumstances.  Prior to reading this book, I had no appreciation for Afghanistan’s history, the multitude of wars and the lack of stability in the country for so many years.  If you gain nothing else from this book besides an understanding of the political history of Afghanistan beginning from the cold war, through 9-11 up to today, I think it’s completely worth the time.  At a minimum, Mrs. Koofi has shed light on the tumultuous history of Afghanistan, which provides a basic understanding of why change can be so difficult to achieve. 

I finished this book in a matter of a couple of weeks, and while I found some of the text lacking depth and a few open ended stories, I can’t say it influenced the draw to continue reading.  I was especially drawn in by Mrs. Koofi’s explanation of the clan-like family culture that seems integral to the way of life in Afghanistan.  It’s probably not something one can fully appreciate unless its inherent to your lifestyle, but it was eye-opening to learn of the strong bond of the Afghani family, whether immediate, by marriage, or otherwise!  This was immensely clear when Mrs. Koofi chose to run for Speaker of Parliament and had to rely on her extended family for support.   

This book was the October selection, but unfortunately I did not find any published questions for the meeting.  So, if you choose this book for your club, take some time to write some questions/discussion points (or take notes as your reading… if you do that!). 

Raghavan Iyer's Sliced Okra Soup (bathed in Buttermilk) from 660 Curries

I'm finally back in the kitchen, inspired by local ingredients and fellow friends helping me get back into the groove of things.  I'm definitely working my way back up the hill, but things are looking up.  This weekend was fantastic cooking-wise, I managed to get a number of recipes under my belt that I'm happy to be writing about.  I think I spent both Saturday and Sunday in the kitchen for a minimum of four hours each, but I am slowly beginning to feel normal in the kitchen again.

This recipe was one I decided on last minute on Saturday to accompany some roasted lamp chops I threw together (roasted in our brand new oven, more to come on that!) for dinner.  While I'm not sure it was the greatest pairing in the world, this was a delicious soup and fabulously simple to prepare and cook that I am inclined to make this a standard go-to 'open friends eyes to Indian food' recipe!

Note, I didn't plan well enough in advance to have buttermilk on hand.  Upon researching via the internet, I did find that a common replacement is one tablespoon of lemon juice for every cup of milk. Based on my research, the amount of time you should let the mixture sit is non-standard, I read anywhere between 2 and 10 minutes.  I ended up going with about 5 minutes, for good measure. Admittedly I have no idea what this recipe tastes like when buttermilk is used, but if you're looking for an healthy alternative, milk with lemon juice is a good one!

Ingredients:
1 pound okra (I used a frozen bag since good, fresh okra is available here.  These will little mini-okra which were cute, tasted the same as long okra)
4 cups buttermilk (or as per above, I used 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for every cup of milk, let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes before using)
2 tablespoons of chickpea flour (also called Besan in Hindi, can be found in any Indian grocery store or perhaps try a Whole Foods type of store)
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon of ground tumeric
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems (remove bulky stems)
12 medium-sized to large fresh curry leaves (as Raghavan advises in his book, there is no replacement for these leaves, if you don't have them just omit them.  Usually found in any Indian grocery store.  I only had dried leaves available when I made this soup)
2 tablespoons Ghee or melted butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (I just realized this recipe calls for fenugreek seeds and I used fennel, I will have to try this again!)

1. Trim the caps off the okra, and then cut the pods into 1 inch lengths.  Cut the pieces length wise.
2. Whisk the buttermilk/milk, chickpea flour, sugar, salt, cayenne, and turmeric together in a bowl, making sure the flour is completely incorporated with no lumps.  Then stir in the cilantro and curry leaves.                                        
3. Heat the ghee or melted butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle the cumin and fennel seeds into the pan and cook until they sizzle, turn brown-ish, and are fragrant, about 10 seconds.  
4. Immediately add the okra and stir-fry until the slices blister in spots and acquire a light brown coloration on their skin, between 8 and 10 minutes.  
5. Pour in the spiced buttermilk/milk mixture and stir once or twice to deglaze the pan, releasing any browned bits of spices and okra.  Lower the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the okra is fork tender and the curry has thickened slightly, 10 to 12 minutes.  The color of the liquid will change from a pale, cream color to a bright yellow as the soup thickens.  

I hope you try this recipe and if you do, let me know what you think about it!

Eet Smakelijk (equivalent of Buon Appetito in Italian)!

Wild by Cheryl Strayed Book Review

Here's another book club read that we discussed for in July.  I've been working on this review for a while, just never was complete enough to post it.

Image from amazon.com

Wild by Cheryl Strayed is about a woman's journey to find herself after a series of poor choices and the tragic death of her mother on the Pacific Coast Trail (from Southern California to Oregon). Find a more detailed review here.

Cheryl starts her journey as an inexperienced hiker, making novice mistakes, but forced by her self-imposed circumstances and surroundings, learns how to be an avid and and agile hiker.   To her surprise (and mine as well), she doesn't dwell on the life events she thought she would when she set out on this hike (her mother's death, her divorce, her drug abuse), but rather focuses on how to accomplish the tasks of the next day.  As hiking becomes more natural for her and she is reassured by her fellow PCT hikers, she finally begins to ponder life, her decisions in life, and its unfairness.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone.  Yes, this is a 'find yourself', true-life story and the author takes a literal and figurative journey in life, one where Cheryl Strand hopes to weed through and reflect on her recent past of poor decisions and emotional roller coasters.  The actuality of hiking the (PCT) trail that most avid hikers train for, without any preparation (including how to prepare her pack) is in itself the life experience that lends to the emotional and personal reflection Cheryl Strand hoped for when she set out on the journey.

There are portions of the book I found very moving and emotional for me.  It's difficult to put into words why these portions were so moving except that they were stories in which the reader finds Cheryl resolving the unsettled emotions of her wayward life before beginning this hike. I couldn't stop myself from checking out who Cheryl Strand is today and where life has led her.  Of course, as one may expect she is happy, writing (as she wanted to), and re-married with children.  I recently heard a podcast on NPR where she indicated that through the book she has found her sister (daughter of her father and another woman), someone she knew existed, but was never sure if she would ever be in contact with, I imagine the changes in her life as a result of writing this book are worthy of their own telling!

Update and On my nightstand

I've been neglecting this blog ... a little over a month since my last post, eek!  Life has been a little blah lately, food is especially depressing in the Netherlands.  Lately, I've had more than one experience where the food I purchase from the main grocery store chain doesn't taste like anything, the cheese, the bread, the grapes even... blah.  I've realized that much of my happiness centers around food, it's taste and quality are absolutely central to how my general attitude will be for the day, the week, the month!  I don't know where it came from, I think this need always been there, but I feel it here in the Netherlands more than anywhere else I've lived in (which isn't saying much, I've lived in three locations in three decades, Minnesota, Italy and the Netherlands).  Anyway, it's definitely impacting my desire to be creative in the kitchen which results in a lack of food recipes on this blog.  Not sure if and when that will change....

Well, onto books which has kept me plenty occupied lately.  I've become completely engrossed with trying to read as many books as possible. There are so many great reads that have come to my attention recently and with the weather changing to fall, curling up with a new book and mint tea is just the right thing for me! I've received so many great recommendations from my book club friends and NPR is always reviewing a new book, or three (!) that my reading list just keeps growing and growing.  We're lucky here in Eindhoven to have a book store with English books, but I still find myself gravitating towards reading on the kindle or the kindle app on my phone.  Sign of times changing or just circumstances necessitating change?

Well anyway, rather than writing full reviews of the books I last told you about, I've (very briefly) summarized my thoughts on them here.

The House of Spirits - I actually wrote a review of this one.  See my review here.

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New  America -  The Unwinding re-tells the tales of everyday and unusual (public figures, famous musicians, politicians) people in today's world through the economic downfall in 2009 (beginning in the 1970s through 2010-ish).   The book does not provide an analysis of these stories, George Packer leaves the reader to draw one's own conclusion.  Most, if not all stories do not end on an upbeat note, most are left in a state of despair with uncertain futures or in a spinning cycle of making poor or unwanted choices.  While I could not personally relate to these stories, I did find their perspective interesting.  I enjoyed learning about the housing crisis in Florida and also about Dean Price's quest to make fuel alternatives main stream. I found the story of Joe Biden's aide very depressing (also learned a lot about Joe Biden) and really wanted to shake him by the shoulders and wake him up from such a disappointing career.
This book is not a feel good book and I also never found myself reading it just before bed, it was a middle of the day read when I could squeeze it in (which is probably why it took so long to get through!).  Some story lines were especially dry and towards the end of the book I found myself reading it just to finish it.  While I think it's interesting and worthy of your time to be educated of the state of things, be aware that it's a slow read and not an enthralling read.

Half Broke Horses - Another novel by Jeanette Walls.  I picked up this book after reading The Glass Castle: A Memoir (which I previously reviewed here).  Half Broke Horses is a novel about the life of Jeanette Walls grandmother, Lily Casey.  Lily Casey's life centers around the South (Texas, Arizona) where life was hard, weather conditions were harsh, and making money was not easy.  This book is a decent and very quick read, but unlike The Glass Castle, it's not a stand alone brilliant novel.  I was interested in this book to understand Jeanette Walls' mother's upbringing, but this novel did not shed the light I was hoping it would bring.  Interesting novel, but I recommend The Glass Castle over this one.  

In the meantime between my last post and this post, I also read two more stories:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) - Another book that came to my attention by a friend.  I was curious mostly because I love the movie.  As it turns out the short story is very different and less positive than the film.  In general a fun short story, one that has some interesting life lessons intertwined.  It's interesting to see that a three hour film could be generated from an ~20 page short story.

Those Who Save Us - A novel by Jeanna Blum about a daughter's journey to uncover her German mother's story during World War II.  This novel was another fast book club read, but I have to say I was conflicted with the book.  There were brilliant, eloquent quotes in this novel, but some of the writing was lacking depth and the same eloquence that other passages had.  The story line at times felt a little to convenient and forced.  On the other hand, I couldn't put the novel down, I read this book in less than a week, so there must have been something brilliant that kept me coming back.  The theme 'those who save us' is prevalent in the novel and each set of characters that interact play a role in saving each other.  In general I found this to be a good and fast read, but if you'v read World War II novels from the Germany perspective before, this one is probably not worth your time.

On my Nightstand:
I have started Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, but to be honest, it's not begging for my attention and has therefore taken a backseat on my reading list.  Recently, our book club has chosen next month's book and I've become completely engrossed in this one, The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future by Fawiza Koofi.  So, that brings me to my next topic, what's on my nightstand?

Besides The Favored Daughter, next up are Brick Lane by Monica Ali and The Son by Philipp Meyer.  I chose Brick Lane for our upcoming trip to London over the Thanksgiving holidays (no, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the Netherlands, but we will have friends visiting for the holiday).  The Son has recently been reviewed by some book blogs (here's one)  and I recommended it to my husband who has been reading it.  My hope is that he will finish it and I can pick it up after him.

  
All images from amazon.com

Well, that's it for now, until next time... Happy Reading!