I started writing 'Brick Lane' when my children were two years and five months old. We were on holiday in the north… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
Outside of interviews, I spend very little time thinking about myself. I spend time thinking about my writing and my children and… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
Some writers are more natural public performers than others; personally I find it quite strange giving interviews. But everyone has parts of… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
Writing is a deeply immersive experience. When the words are flying, the house could be burgled and I wouldn’t notice. I have… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
Kids are naturally inventive and curious and creative, but most adults have had that beaten out of them. Writing is a form… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I guess there's a sort of cycle with writing books. There's all the researching and then the imagining and writing - which… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I like Beryl Bainbridge a great deal, and she is a writer who absolutely demands to be read a second, third, and… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I was always an outsider, always standing outside, observing and trying to figure things out. Which is exactly what you need to… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I get really excited if I think I'm going to introduce somebody to a writer they haven't found before and I think… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I don't want to get hung up on what 'people,' that nebulous mass, think about me. That's the way to unhappiness, I think. — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“If God wanted us to ask questions, he would have made us men (page 80).” — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“And so they entwined their lives to drink from the pools of each other’s sadness. From these special watering holes, each man drew strength.” — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“Her words were as sharp as an eyeful of sand. She never raised her voice. It was the kind of voice that never needed… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
She touched his hand for the last time. "Oh, Karim, that we have already done. But always there was a problem between us. How… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“Tevis being childless meant you felt a little sorry for her, and a bit jealous. Probably the same way she felt about you.” — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
Sometimes I look back and I am shocked. Everyday of my life I have prepared for success, worked for it, waited for it, and… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
I started writing 'Brick Lane' when my children were two years and five months old. We were on holiday in the north of England… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“The air was hot and wet, as if it had absorbed the sweat of countless bodies. It dripped also with scandal.” — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
“Nishi's sister, who was sixteen years old, had gone for a "holiday" in Sylhet and returned six months later with a husband and a… — Monica Ali Copy Share Image
