Book Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid

Abstaining myself from commenting on this beautifully crafted story is indeed difficult, hence I will not. In his second novel, Mohsin Hamid has magnificently concocted the tale of a Pakistani, namely Changez, in the mightiest of the civilizations, the U.S of A.

Changez is a brilliant scholar who obtains his dream job and is seemingly happy with the American way of life. On the front this story is of how a hard working and committed Pakistani, in the wake of the 9/11 attack, becomes tumultuous and gets at the brink of exploding within. It is also a tale of love, of a love that he holds for Erica, of the painful dismissal of it as she suffers from the incurable disease of “nostalgia”. He loses his Erica and to this day still remembers her.

Hamid’s brilliant style of narration gives the reader the feeling that he is actually engaged in a conversation and is listening with intent as he pauses to reflect on the beautiful insights Hamid has to offer. The book at more than a few times bring for the reader sentences of simple yet utter artistic grandeur. In an easy and gratifying read Hamid takes you to a Lahore cafe and magically starts talking to you. That is the sheer brilliance of his writing.

- Anubhav Srivastava