A very good read, about two sisters, Nazneen and Hasina, from a village in Bangladesh. Hasina (the younger and more beautiful) elopes with a young man she loves, and loses the support of her family and community; Nazneen is shortly afterward married off to a much older man and joins him in London, where they live in the Bangladeshi neighborhood around Brick Lane. We learn about Hasina's life via her not-too-grammatical letters to her older sister; most of the story, though, is told from Nazneen's point of view. From its start, the story considers the role of Fate and will--at birth Nazneen appeared stillborn and though she rallied, rather than seek treatment her mother decided to let Fate determine whether Nazneen would live. Having been told this story since she was an infant, Nazneen internalizes the idea that life can't be controlled by will--you just need to endure it; offering any suffering up to Allah. Hasina rejects this notion, insisting on her right to control her life and seek happiness. As the novel unfolds, we're confronted by the complicated outcomes of each philosophy.