The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' impressed me on a number of different levels. It is a sparse, short book which reflects on culture, terrorism, xenophobia, capitalism and mental illness. This may sound like an intimidating list, but the way that Mohsin Hamid subtly weaves these issues into the narrative makes the story one that is very easy to read and totally enthralling. Like many of the best books, the entire story takes place during one short night. A strange man approaches an American with the words, 'Excuse me sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see that I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America'. This first sentence ...  Read the complete review

At a café in an old part of Lahore, a Pakistani man treats a mysterious and a rather nervous American to a story of his encounter - and disillusionment - with the American Dream. A scion of a old family of Pakistani professionals, who still remember the old but now faded glories, he goes to Princeton on a special scholarship and on graduation is recruited by an elite firm of business valuers. New York is a revelation - a cosmopolitan centre of the most advanced technological civilisation in the world - a country in itself - and his drive and talents are recognised and appreciated, while he doesn't question either the life he's personally living or the values of the world ...  Read the complete review

Skillfully-composed, clever in execution - and only occasionally too much so for its own good - Mousin Hamed's The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a crafty novella that examines the east-west rift that has only deepened over the past decade. At one point in proceedings, our protagonist Changez is told of the Janissaries; Christian children taken by the Ottoman Empire and trained to fight unquestioningly against their own people. A Pakistani in New York, Changez begins to see himself in the same light, and question his own allegiances. The story is told entirely in the form of Changez's monologue as he relates his tale to a slightly jumpy American stranger he meets ...  Read the complete review

Well here's a book my boss leant me, with the warning that it was an amazing piece of literature and he was looking forward to discussing it with me when I had finished it; you can imagine it would bode me well to feel the same, and so I set aside a fair amount of time to plough through it. The story is written by Changez, and is a monologue where we read his side of a conversation he is having with a stranger in a Lahore Cafe. Changez is a Pakistani who moved to the US and then returned to Pakistan. He tells his tale to the stranger and, erm, that's it! The story is, over all, a bit dull. It is very well written, with an authentic and intriguing ...  Read the complete review

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid. The novel is written in an unusual way, where a Pakistani man is talking to an American man in a cafe. Throughout the book we do not hear the American man speak, as the whole book is the main character talking. We do however hear his reaction through Changez, as he gradually gets more nervous as Changez recounts his time in America and gradually abandonment of America. The novel is written in a well-thought out and interesting way, and Mohsin Hamid deserves credit in how he keeps the reader interested throughout the novel with this style of writing which could easily become boring. We ...  Read the complete review