MobyLives has this amazing piece which rips to shred the current obsession with young ethnic authors. The columnist, Laila Lalami who is a Moroccan and a very accomplished writer in her own right argues that people show view Monica Ali’s Brick Lane for what it is – a great book, not a book by pretty something exotic creature. I don’t think I disagree. Brick Lane is simply fantastic, if sometimes pandering to the masses at times.

Still, “Brick Lane” takes the reader into complex, challenging, and enriching worlds. Ali shouldn’t have to be reduced to a pat, exotic persona; her book is far too important not to be judged on its own merit.