The Reluctant Fundamentalist

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

by Mohsin Hamid

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2007, Dublin Finalist 2009, James Tait Black Finalist 2007

 

Date Read: June 26, 2023

 

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a rather brief exploration of the golden ticket of American opportunity through a conversation with Changez, our protagonist, and an unknown dining partner. Changez recalls his modest upbringing in Pakistan, perhaps considered poverty by American standards, privileged by Pakistani standards. He earns the ultimate prize – a scholarship to Princeton – and knows just what this opportunity can behold.

 

Changez works hard and gains academic success, as well as an interview at one of the most prestigious firms in the business world: Underwood Samson, a valuation firm. In attempting to distinguish himself from the other lucky souls to win a coveted interview, he says he has earned only As in his graduate classes. Unimpressed, the interviewer says everyone they interview has straight As. Changez realizes he’s going to have to dig deeper.

 

On a personal front, he meets and befriends Erica, a troubled classmate who he pursues to an uncertain end. While there seems to be chemistry between them, Erica is largely an enigma, coming close and then pushing away again in a sort of dance that leaves Changez confused. After she confesses that she’s still in love with her deceased boyfriend does the picture of Erica slowly come into focus.

 

Meanwhile, the events of 9/11 leave a bitter aftertaste for Changez who is now viewed as suspicious instead of as a pursuer of the American dream. After returning home to Pakistan and seeing his country in turmoil, the side-eye he receives in America and Erica’s continued spiral into madness, Changez is left reeling and confused about his place in the world. He grows a beard. He begins stumbling at work. He finally withdraws from the breathless opportunity and financial security that await him in America and decides to return home.

 

This is the second novel I’ve read from Mohsin and he again doesn’t disappoint. His distinct point of view is captivating and his ability to draw suspense out of thin air is unparalleled. I was anxious the entire time but didn’t quite know why until the end. Masterful.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more