

If you LOVED the book, should you see the movie? In this case the answer is YES.
British author Monica Ali's beloved novel, "Brick Lane," won all sorts of awards and made numerous top ten lists when it was published in 2003. Critics praised it and readers embraced it.
Now this story of a Bangladeshi teenager named Nazneen who, after an arranged marriage to a man more than twice her age, ends up making a life in London's East End has been made into a movie just released on DVD.
The novel weaves all the BIG issues -- racism, religious and cultural differences, class divides, love vs. passion, responsiblity, the immigrant experience, and the pull of family -- into Naznee's faltering steps toward self-expression and self-reliance.
Of course, the movie can't include all the detail of the 400 page book, but it is a faithful recreation of the novel's main threads. It is a touching and beautiful little movie.