A review by ericgaryanderson
In the Kitchen by Monica Ali

3.0

Ali's writing is fabulous: so smooth, clean, and seemingly effortless. But I'm not sure that she's fully worked out the point of the story she wants to tell in this novel. It's not exactly a shaggy-dog story, but I wasn't left with much of a payoff, or much of a suspicion that the novel has complex layers of meaning that are there even though I might not see them yet. It's an okay read, but not as great as her brilliant first novel BRICK LANE.