After an arranged marriage to Chanu a man twenty years older Nazneen is taken to London leaving her home and heart in the Bangladeshi village where she was born Her new world is full of mysteries How can she cross the road without being hit by a car an operation akin to dodging raindrops in the monsoon What is the secret of her bullying neighbor Mrs Islam What is a Hells Angel And how must she comfort the naIumlve and disillusioned Chanu As a good Muslim girl Nazneen struggles to not question why things happen She submits as she must to Fate and devotes herself to her husband and daughters Yet to her amazement she begins an affair with a handsome young radical and her erotic awakening throws her old certainties into chaos Monica Alis splendid novel is about journeys both external and internal where the marvellous and the terrifying spiral together.
