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wisemeg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
4.75
I’ve never read a book Moshin Hamid that didn’t break my heart. Beautiful and sad.
samishereandreadytopartayy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
After having read all Hamid's other books I finally got around to reading his debut novel. It was interesting to see him developing his style and how he just keeps getting better and better as a writer. Set in Lahore the book focuses on Daru, his best friend, his lover, and an assortment of other people in his life. Daru is on trial for murder and we slowly see through chapters from different participants points of view how events unfolded over the course of a few months. Daru is not somebody to root for but yet you just can't help but want to keep reading more to see how he continues to make a mess of his life.
m4heeen's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I don't really know where to begin but all I know is that I have mixed feelings.
Obviously the characters were intentionally insufferable and bad people but I still didn't find it engaging or entertaining. I think the writing was a little scrappy and the Hamad's extended metaphors were more often than not iffy and unaffective. I don't think it was inherently bad but I can't find anything good to say about it either.
What I did like was the way he explored class. Daru was such a blatant hypocrite, he complained about those who were richer than him and how unaware and out of touch they were, he complained about not being able to afford air conditioning and how the rich viewed him differently. But when Manucci asked for his pay or anything that bothered him, he turned into the people he hated. I really like that Hamad added this to the novel as it is so common in upper middle class Pakistani society.
Obviously the characters were intentionally insufferable and bad people but I still didn't find it engaging or entertaining. I think the writing was a little scrappy and the Hamad's extended metaphors were more often than not iffy and unaffective. I don't think it was inherently bad but I can't find anything good to say about it either.
What I did like was the way he explored class. Daru was such a blatant hypocrite, he complained about those who were richer than him and how unaware and out of touch they were, he complained about not being able to afford air conditioning and how the rich viewed him differently. But when Manucci asked for his pay or anything that bothered him, he turned into the people he hated. I really like that Hamad added this to the novel as it is so common in upper middle class Pakistani society.
misha_ali's review against another edition
5.0
I recently reread this book as an exercise in determining whether my initial very positive expectations survived a second reading several years after the first me. They did. Moth smoke, for me, is the essential book about middle class Pakistan. The polarization between the very rich (and inevitably corrupt) and the very poor (and tragically honest) that forms the paradox of Pakistani society is very clearly and accurately presented in this book. Darashikoh's fall from grace is almost inevitable, as he has been pushed from a young age into a lifestyle he cannot hope to sustain without reliance on his one time best friend and his corrupt but powerful father. Armed with the arrogance and delusions of grandeur that are part of the upper classes and with a income that would not make Murad Badshah envious, Daru is clearly doomed from the beginning of the novel where he tells a feudal lord client at his bank where to shove it and is subsequently fired from the job his best friends father arranged for him. Thus begins a downward spiral that features increasingly addictive drugs, sleeping with his best friends wife, drug dealing and eventually murder. Noting really works out well for anyone in this novel, which is why I rate it higher than my other favorite Pakistani novel, Kartography. Very highly recommended.
_askthebookbug's review against another edition
5.0
Moth smoke :)
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I am so glad I bought this book. There are very few books which I buy without reading any reviews and this was one amongst it. Mohsin Hamid has written such a dangerous and real novel that I am still dazed by its brilliance! He talks about a young man Daru Shezad who gets fired from work one day and finds himself in the sea of unemployment for many months. He starts using drugs and falls in love with his best friend’s wife and everything goes downhill from there. This is a story of loss, fear, drugs, love and murder. The book is just of 240 odd pages and keeps you on your toes every minute. I’d rate it 5/5. .
.Feels amazing to read such an amazing work :) .
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I am so glad I bought this book. There are very few books which I buy without reading any reviews and this was one amongst it. Mohsin Hamid has written such a dangerous and real novel that I am still dazed by its brilliance! He talks about a young man Daru Shezad who gets fired from work one day and finds himself in the sea of unemployment for many months. He starts using drugs and falls in love with his best friend’s wife and everything goes downhill from there. This is a story of loss, fear, drugs, love and murder. The book is just of 240 odd pages and keeps you on your toes every minute. I’d rate it 5/5. .
.Feels amazing to read such an amazing work :) .
milandeep's review against another edition
4.0
Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid is a much better book than The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The story takes place in Lahore where the main characters Aurangzeb, Mumtaz, Darashikoh and Murad show their shades of loyalty, addiction and betrayal. The three male characters are named after the sons of Emperor Shah Jahan and they are as diverse as their namesakes.
The socioeconomic factors of the city have a high impact on the people where the powerful and rich make a mockery of the law and get away with almost anything. It is also a story of friendship and love. Both the characters and the narration of the book are beautifully complex. Hamid shows how some people accept their life as a result of choices that they make and how others get bitter about what life throws at them.
The socioeconomic factors of the city have a high impact on the people where the powerful and rich make a mockery of the law and get away with almost anything. It is also a story of friendship and love. Both the characters and the narration of the book are beautifully complex. Hamid shows how some people accept their life as a result of choices that they make and how others get bitter about what life throws at them.