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stacey_mb

Book of the Week

stacey_mb
10 years ago

The reluctant fundamentalist : a novel / Mohsin Hamid.

This book was shortlisted for the 2007 Booker Prize and was named a best book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.

The very interesting main character Changez is revealed in this intriguing book by his narration, but because the entire book is comprised of his dialogue, the people and events he speaks of are seen through his eyes, are his opinions and are only what he chooses to reveal. In this way, the novel sets up a dialogue with the reader who questions what he is saying to us, his unseen audience. Changez's sole audience in the book is an unnamed American in a Lahore cafe to whom he talks about his life in Pakistan, his time studying at Princeton University, and then becoming employed by an elite valuation firm in the U.S. The narrator also speaks of a romantic relationship he had with an American woman while in the U.S. , his responses to 9/11 and how his feelings changed after the attack.

The ambiguous and unspoken or unexplained elements in the book begin with the meaning of Changez's dialogue at the start of the novel, which seems straightforward on a first reading. He says to the American, "Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard. I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something; more than looking, in fact you seemed to be on a mission, and since I am both a native of this city and a speaker of your language, I thought I might offer you my services." But on reading the book a second time, I see the words as having quite a different tone.

Their encounter, as explained by Changez, is in the Old Anarkali district, named "after a courtesan immured for loving a prince." Does this mean they are in the pleasure district of Lahore? Some questions that popped up for me - why does Changez choose to speak at such great length to a stranger in Pakistan, who happens to be an American? He specifically picks this person to speak to, telling him that he has identified him as an American by his bearing. Is he specifically targeting Americans? Does this have anything to do with the way the book ends, which was, to me, an ambiguous ending. The narrator often comments on how apprehensive the American appears. Is the American justified in feeling this way or are his fears unfounded? Why does he stay and listen to Changez throughout his long conversation? Why did Changez continue to pursue Erica, a woman that he dates during the time he lived in the U.S., even though she was only half-hearted about their relationship? As someone pointed out, there seems to be a parallel between her name and the country that Changez tries to become a part of, but where he remains an outsider. Lots to think about here.

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