The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Posted on 04 September 2017 by Mohsin Hamid

At a caf table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter Changez is living an immigrant s dream of America At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by an elite valuation firm He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his relationship with Erica shifting And Changez s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love Extreme times call for extreme reactions, extreme writing Hamid has done something extraordinary with this novel Washington Post One of those achingly assured novels that makes you happy to be a reader Junot Diaz Brief, charming, and quietly furious a resounding success Village Voice A Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year A New York Times Notable Book New Read [ The Reluctant Fundamentalist ] By [ Mohsin Hamid ] – kino-fada.fr At a Bookstore in India Sir, I see that you are checking out this book by Mohsin Hamid I read it a few days back How did I find it you ask Well, it was pretty interesting I found the narration style of the author quite unique I think that alone was reason enough to make it worth Oh, you are getting distracted I see you are eyeing those shining new book covers of The Hunger Games and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo They came out after the movies were released No, I have not seen the At a Bookstore in India Sir, I see that you are checking out this book by Mohsin Hamid I read it a few days back How did I find it you ask Well, it was pretty interesting I found the narration style of the author quite unique I think that alone was reason enough to make it worth Oh, you are getting distracted I see you are eyeing those shining new book covers of The Hunger Games and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo They came out after the movies were released No,...On a flight back to US from India, about half an hour was left to land in San Francisco, everyone was asleep, when we heard the captain speaking over the intercom All I heard was something about how we were about to land in Japan In my sleepy state I assumed that something was wrong with the plane and was about to panic when my husband told me the rest of the captain s message Apparently we were denied entry into United States because a passenger was on their no fly list.On landing in Japan, On a flight back to US from India, about half an hour was left to land in San Francisco, everyone was asleep, when we heard the captain speaking over the intercom All I heard was something about how we were about to land in Japan In my sleepy state I assumed that something was wrong with the plane and was about to panic when my husband told me the rest of the captain s message Apparently we were denied entry into United States because a passenger was on their no fly list.On landing in Japan, as we all emptied the plane, I saw a family of about 6 a young boy, bearded, about 20, and women of different ages wearing burkha s sitting quietly in the center seats not meeting anyones eyes I remarked to my husband about how horrid they must be feeling, that just because they are Muslims they must have shown up on the security radar for US Once the aircraft had been emptied out, the family was brought out with about 10 men surrounding them and tak...A real bowl of literary prawn crackers you eat and eat and they taste of nothing, they re entirely synthetic, like a form of extruded plastic, but you can t stop and then you realise the whole bowl is gone and what was that all about This is not a good book and yet it was compelling, I can t deny it, a smooth, snaky insinuating monologue which in retrospect and often in real time spect is a ridiculous tissue of allegory, you ve seen all this in other reviews but it s all horribly true our r A r...I ve been trying to read some good Pakistani writing in English for a while now And I m glad I made an introduction with Mohsin Hamid s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, who earlier wrote Moth Smoke, a novel, which Rahul Bose is now adapting into a film.Lately, there has been a flowering of young Pakistani writers like Hamid and Kamila Shamsie Cartography, Salt And Saffron , and in many ways, this is the first literary stirring that the country is witnessing.The Reluctant Fundamentalist looks at t I ve been trying to read some good Pakistani writing in English for a while now And I m glad I made an introduction with Mohsin Hamid s The Reluct...In one sustained monologue, a young Pakistani named Changez relates his life story to an unidentified American man in a cafe in the city of Lahore Changez, a Princeton graduate who once worked as an analyst for a Manhattan financial firm, tells us how his optimistic view of America began to darken in the aftermath of 9 11 I liked this book for its elegant style and outsider s viewpoint, but my favorite part of it is the mysterious relationship between the narrator and his American listener Te In one sustained monologue, a young Pakistani named Changez relates his life story to an unidentified American man in a cafe in the city of Lahore Changez, a Princeton graduate who once worked as an analyst for a Manhattan financial firm, tells us how his optimistic view of America began to darken in the aftermath of 9 11...Nine Reasons To Read This One Because it s short, yet evocative a relief at a time when authors needlessly pile on the pages.Because it s hard enough to sustain a distinctive voice for a dramatic monologue in a poem ask Robert Browning , leave alone an entire novel.Because the voice is just right formal without being sombre precise without being stiff.Because, unlike in John Updike s Terrorist, you can empathise with and understand Changez, the fundamentalist.Because of the delicious ironie Nine Reasons To Read This One Because it s short, yet evocative a relief at a time when authors needlessly pile on the pages.Because it s hard enough to sustain a distinctive voice for a dramatic monologue in a poem ask Robert Browning , leave alone an entire novel.Because the voice is just right formal without being sombre precise without being stiff.Because, unlike in John Updike s Terrorist, you can empathise with and understand Changez, the fundamentalist.Because of the delicious ironies, among them the fact that Changez works in a US firm that evaluates companies ripe for takeover virtually the first piece of advice he receives is to stick to the fundamentals.Because Changez s disillusionment comes about in a nuanced, progressive manner and as such is completely believable.Because ther...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here This is a lovely, short, very easy to read post 9 11 book The structure of this is tale is Changez telling his personal story to a burly American visitor probably a spook of some sort to his country, in his function as a guide to Pakistan The tone was very reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling, at least as far as I recall from my reading of Kipling many years back Think The Man Who Would Be King This makes sense given the subject matter of the book, colonialism versus the third world Changez, bo This is a lovely, short, very easy to read post 9 11 book The structure of this is tale is Changez telling his personal story to a burly American visitor proba...An Open Letter to Americawhich unfortunately I read late, around 5 years late Why unfortunate B coz I might have liked it or probably loved it since I was a naive reader back then i.e I was into Sheldons and Archers and closer home Bhagats blushes Anyway, I was well aware when this book hit the literary world and took it by storm A dashing title, a Pakistani author, a reluctant subject, a movie in the making by Mira Nair and that s precisely the reason I wanted to read the book before watc An Open Letter to Americawhich unfortunately I read late, around 5 years late Why unfortunate B coz I might have liked it or probably loved it since I was a naive reader back then i.e I was into Sheldons and Archers and closer home Bhagats blushes Anyway, I was well aware when this book hit the literary world and took it by storm A dashing title, a Pakistani author, a reluctant subject, a movie in the making by Mira Nair and that s precisely the reason I wanted to read the book before watching the movie , so bought a copy and was ...An eerie, quietly powerful story The structure is simple enough a monologue A cafe in Lahore, and a young Pakistani is explaining to a silent American how he came to be an enemy of America There s menace there something is about to happen, and soon You re not told why the American is there, or what he does, or quite why young Changez is telling him these things But there it is This voice educated, articulate, tinged with hostility and faux bonhomie and self pity speaking into t An eerie, quietly powerful story The structure is simple enough a monologue A cafe in Lahore, and a young Pakistani is explaining to a silent American how he came to be an enemy of America There s menace there something is about to happen, and soon You re not told why the American is there, or what he does, or quite why young Changez is telling him these things But there it is This voice educated, articulate, tinged with hostility and faux bonhomie and self pity speaking into the dusk, orderingtea, andwaiting There are reviewers at GoodReads who just didn t get the narrator, who just disliked him out of hand After all, they said full scholarship to Princeton, near six figure Wall Street job at 22, beautiful American girlfriend how da...When my turn came, I said I hoped one day to be the dictator of an Islamic republic with nuclear capability the others appeared shocked, and I was forced to explain that I had been joking It explores, but only manages to scratch the surface, the question of religious fundamentalist amongst contemporary Muslim youth No, it doesn t explore it, but makes a joke out of it, through an artificially constructed dilemma of one Changez, a Pakistani expat in the United States, who has turned to fundWhen my turn came, I said I hoped one day to be the dictator of an Islamic republic with nuclear capability the others appeared shocked, and I was forced to explain that I had been joking It explores, but only manages to scratch the surface, the question of religious fundamentalist amongst contemporary Muslim youth No, it doesn t explore it, but makes a joke out of it, through an artificially constructed dilemma of one Changez, a Pakistani expat in the United States, who has turned to fundamentalism after the history making day of nine eleven.Location Lahore, the famous Food Street in Old city The Reluctant Fundamentalist dines with an anonymous person about whom the only info...

English
04 September 2017

Mohsin Hamid