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serafina_lang's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Plot:
The story follows, to summarise it briefly, a Pakistani Muslim man named Changez and a conversation he has with an American stranger one day, sitting on the rickety chairs outside a cafe in Lahore; where both the stranger and we, the readers, are drawn into his story. The story of how he immigrated to America at eighteen years old and was living the best life he could have imagined, until the 9/11 attacks and the consequences that they had on him and his life.
My Thoughts:
Interestingly enough, this book reminded me time and time again, of Babel. Both spin a tale of an Eastern main character who goes to the West and is exposed to the wealth, the power and the bling of a first world country with all its advanced technology and superiority. They are dazzled by its brilliance and desire to entwine themselves in the very fabric of the country, to discard their old lives, personalities and along with them, everything that was a memory of the place they had come from, where they were viewed as lesser, ignorant, pitiful, weak. Then comes the realisation that despite contorting themselves to fit the mold, they will never truly be accepted and not only that, but they are betraying their own people by working with the very country that wishes to do them harm. Finally comes the desperate urgency to right their wrongs, to escape the manipulative, exploitive pit that they once knew as the great West.
I absolutely adored the writing style, if you've ever read a book and the writing itself felt like a hug you'll know what I mean. It was so comforting and relaxing and easy to read. As for how it was laid out, I think it was so simple, yet clever. The way Changez addressed the American the whole time, narrating the story to him, yet never once do we witness dialogue between them.
This review is definitely on the shorter side and by no means elaborate because I don't have much experience with books of this genre but for me personally it was a thought-provoking, engaging read that I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend :)
Plot:
The story follows, to summarise it briefly, a Pakistani Muslim man named Changez and a conversation he has with an American stranger one day, sitting on the rickety chairs outside a cafe in Lahore; where both the stranger and we, the readers, are drawn into his story. The story of how he immigrated to America at eighteen years old and was living the best life he could have imagined, until the 9/11 attacks and the consequences that they had on him and his life.
My Thoughts:
Interestingly enough, this book reminded me time and time again, of Babel. Both spin a tale of an Eastern main character who goes to the West and is exposed to the wealth, the power and the bling of a first world country with all its advanced technology and superiority. They are dazzled by its brilliance and desire to entwine themselves in the very fabric of the country, to discard their old lives, personalities and along with them, everything that was a memory of the place they had come from, where they were viewed as lesser, ignorant, pitiful, weak. Then comes the realisation that despite contorting themselves to fit the mold, they will never truly be accepted and not only that, but they are betraying their own people by working with the very country that wishes to do them harm. Finally comes the desperate urgency to right their wrongs, to escape the manipulative, exploitive pit that they once knew as the great West.
I absolutely adored the writing style, if you've ever read a book and the writing itself felt like a hug you'll know what I mean. It was so comforting and relaxing and easy to read. As for how it was laid out, I think it was so simple, yet clever. The way Changez addressed the American the whole time, narrating the story to him, yet never once do we witness dialogue between them.
This review is definitely on the shorter side and by no means elaborate because I don't have much experience with books of this genre but for me personally it was a thought-provoking, engaging read that I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend :)
milliad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I loved this book. The reflective prose which read as if it was through a conversation between us and the main character was intriguing.
I enjoyed the reflection on American centralism and the way America has used the tragedy of 9/11 to exert overt influence on the developing world
I enjoyed the reflection on American centralism and the way America has used the tragedy of 9/11 to exert overt influence on the developing world
itsmoleyreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
anon_m3's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
tafrito's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
vxnick's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
aoibheann's review
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Verrrrry on the nose. But okay besides.
jgwags's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
spectracommunist's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't even in my tbr, I just felt like reading something indigenous so I came across this, borrowed from a neighbor and started reading it. As this is a book from South Asian contemporary literature - I was in the mood of critically finding all the flaws (Yes, I'm Indian and only a few great works of literature emerge from here - and same is for Pakistan).
Initially, I was really pissed off, the narration was so incovenient - a pakistani telling all his story whilst he was in America to some American gringo for no apparant reason in an exquisite cafe and the entire conversations of two people were told by single one, It was like 'So you were saying that you feel much hot around here', 'my voice is rising? you're right.' ... It seems like the gringo was some dumbass. The another thing was that the protagonist [Changez] was very capitalist and selfish, I didn't like the way he was delivering the words, so egocentric. Altough, the chemistry between Changez and Erica was good that kept me going or else I would've dumped this much early.
The thing is that Changez was such a brat but after the events of 9/11 he suffered from Identity crises and anxieties of dejection from his love, he became a truly sensible character - that was such a notable transformation, I mean this is what great stories are - a character is flawful initially, he experiences and learns from situations out of comfort zones and the result is a great change in him. This is an account of injustice on muslim immigrants (especially post 9/11) leading to alienation when one has patriotic feelings towards his own heritage and as a result how educated people are reluctantly drawn towards fundamentalism.
The narration has some flaws here but the unraveling of plot was quite good, the second half is quite good, like a classic there isn't any unrequired action or much melodramatic events - that's admirable. It ended well, the climax scene was quite good.
Initially, I was really pissed off, the narration was so incovenient - a pakistani telling all his story whilst he was in America to some American gringo for no apparant reason in an exquisite cafe and the entire conversations of two people were told by single one, It was like 'So you were saying that you feel much hot around here', 'my voice is rising? you're right.' ... It seems like the gringo was some dumbass. The another thing was that the protagonist [Changez] was very capitalist and selfish, I didn't like the way he was delivering the words, so egocentric. Altough, the chemistry between Changez and Erica was good that kept me going or else I would've dumped this much early.
The thing is that Changez was such a brat but after the events of 9/11 he suffered from Identity crises and anxieties of dejection from his love, he became a truly sensible character - that was such a notable transformation, I mean this is what great stories are - a character is flawful initially, he experiences and learns from situations out of comfort zones and the result is a great change in him. This is an account of injustice on muslim immigrants (especially post 9/11) leading to alienation when one has patriotic feelings towards his own heritage and as a result how educated people are reluctantly drawn towards fundamentalism.
The narration has some flaws here but the unraveling of plot was quite good, the second half is quite good, like a classic there isn't any unrequired action or much melodramatic events - that's admirable. It ended well, the climax scene was quite good.