Acton reviewed The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Review of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Mohsin Hamid has written a novella that is introspective, nuanced, and profound. It is told in flashback, by a young man named Changez, in one long conversation with an American who is visiting Pakistan.
Changez traveled from Lahore, Pakistan to the U.S. to study at Princeton, where he performed so impressively that he landed a prestigious job in finance in New York City. He also met a woman named Erica, and fell in love with her as well as the city. For awhile, his life seemed almost perfect, more than he had ever imagined for himself. He detailed his life at work, and how his romance with Erika progressed, until--9/11 happened.
His story, his life, was made more complicated by events that followed. He observed that the Americans around him seemed to have become nostalgic for an earlier time, and strangers looked at him with suspicion.
"I had always thought …
Mohsin Hamid has written a novella that is introspective, nuanced, and profound. It is told in flashback, by a young man named Changez, in one long conversation with an American who is visiting Pakistan.
Changez traveled from Lahore, Pakistan to the U.S. to study at Princeton, where he performed so impressively that he landed a prestigious job in finance in New York City. He also met a woman named Erica, and fell in love with her as well as the city. For awhile, his life seemed almost perfect, more than he had ever imagined for himself. He detailed his life at work, and how his romance with Erika progressed, until--9/11 happened.
His story, his life, was made more complicated by events that followed. He observed that the Americans around him seemed to have become nostalgic for an earlier time, and strangers looked at him with suspicion.
"I had always thought of America as a nation that looked forward; for the first time I was struck by its determination to look back. Living in New York was suddenly like living in a film about the Second World War; I, a foreigner, found myself staring out at a set that ought to be viewed not in Technicolor but in grainy black and white. What your fellow countrymen longed for was unclear to me--a time of unquestioned dominance? of safety? of moral certainty? I did not know--but that they were scrambling to don the costumes of another era was apparent. I felt treacherous for wondering whether that era was fictitious, and whether--if it could indeed be animated--it contained a part written for someone like me."
Meanwhile, there was a scary conflict between India and Pakistan, while the U.S., the giant country that so often meddled in the affairs other countries, did nothing to help. Changez developed an angst that made it impossible to keep his mind on his job--or sleep. He was feeling extreme guilt about leaving his family in a dangerous place.
Meanwhile, Erica was having her own mental problems, and once again, Changez felt powerless to help. Actually, both Erika and Changez were struggling with identity issues, of a sort. Neither was sure how to go on. For Erika, it was a past trauma that she could not get over, and it affected everything in her life.
This is beautifully written, and my summary is spare, because there are some things that should not be given away. I was moved to read this after seeing the movie version, which was basically loyal, but not completely.
The way the book ends is brilliant. And it's short. I recommend it!
