The Reluctant Fundamentalist
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Product Description
Marta Simonetti-Whitford, Guardian Books of the Year
"If a book had to be praised for its merits in defining the anxieties of our post-9/11 society, then Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist would be the one to win"
Philip Pullman
"I read Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist with increasing admiration. It is beautifully written - what a joy it is to find such intelligent prose, such clarity of thought and exposition - and superbly constructed. The author has managed to tighten the screw of suspense almost without our being aware it is happening, and the result is a tale of enormous tension. I read a lot of thrillers - or rather I start reading a lot of thrillers, and put most of them down - but this is more exciting than any thriller I've read for a long time, as well as being a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today. I was enormously impressed"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As an outsider's view on the War on Terror and the 9/11 attacks, the Reluctant Fundamentalist offers a revelatory take on a series of events the west is only starting to question. It follows the story of Pakistani immigrant - Changez - working in a high powered corporate job in New York, after graduating from Princeton. At first, with his $80,000 salary, expense account and sharp suits, he thinks he is living the American dream, but then the attacks on the World Trade Centre take place and he is forced to question his reason for being.
As with On Chesil Beach, another of the 2007 Mann Booker Prize nominees, at less than 200 pages this is less a novel than a novella. But don't let you think this is a book you can race through. Moshin Hamid's prose is restrained and thoughtful; intricately layered and insightful - in short, to be savoured.
Some things didn't work for me: the form of narration - Changez telling his story to a western stranger outside a Lahore restaurant was somewhat clumsy. Each chapter is prefaced with a slightly camp `Oh, but sir, our tea is about to arrive' etc. A straightforward memoir would have worked better and would have avoided the messy ending. Also the title of the book suggests that this is in some way about hard core Islamism or terrorism: it's not, but I feel that it will invariably discourage some readers.
Nevertheless, these are minor quibbles and the Reluctant Fundamentalist is a triumph, a wonderful exposition of a man forced to question his personal, national and religious identity in troubled times.
As with On Chesil Beach, another of the 2007 Mann Booker Prize nominees, at less than 200 pages this is less a novel than a novella. But don't let you think this is a book you can race through. Moshin Hamid's prose is restrained and thoughtful; intricately layered and insightful - in short, to be savoured.
Some things didn't work for me: the form of narration - Changez telling his story to a western stranger outside a Lahore restaurant was somewhat clumsy. Each chapter is prefaced with a slightly camp `Oh, but sir, our tea is about to arrive' etc. A straightforward memoir would have worked better and would have avoided the messy ending. Also the title of the book suggests that this is in some way about hard core Islamism or terrorism: it's not, but I feel that it will invariably discourage some readers.
Nevertheless, these are minor quibbles and the Reluctant Fundamentalist is a triumph, a wonderful exposition of a man forced to question his personal, national and religious identity in troubled times.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this an extremely original, thoughtful and wonderfully-written story.
I never thought the subject matter, of a Pakistani's mixed feelings, while living in New York, on the September 11th terrorist attack, would interest me....no, more than interest me; hypnotise me. I can only put this down to the extraordinary way in which it is written. I found it compelling and unputdownable, and it is open enough at the end for the reader to make his own decision about what really happened. It lingers in the mind for many weeks after, and provides interesting discussion material to exchange with a fellow-reader.
I do not think you will regret reading this book. It is spellbinding.
I never thought the subject matter, of a Pakistani's mixed feelings, while living in New York, on the September 11th terrorist attack, would interest me....no, more than interest me; hypnotise me. I can only put this down to the extraordinary way in which it is written. I found it compelling and unputdownable, and it is open enough at the end for the reader to make his own decision about what really happened. It lingers in the mind for many weeks after, and provides interesting discussion material to exchange with a fellow-reader.
I do not think you will regret reading this book. It is spellbinding.
89 of 97 people found the following review helpful
Finely worked prose covering deeply felt issues but too unresolved to reach the highest marks
31 Oct 2007
Format:Hardcover
There is nothing bloated or overdone about Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Yet this sparse, finely cropped short novel tackles some of the challenging issues. Changez, a Pakistani Muslim from a once wealthy family in Lahore, experiences his own version of the American Dream when his talent and his Princeton scholarship lead him to a high-flying job in the world of New York finance and to relationship with a beautiful, enigmatic all-American girl who represents his passport into high society as well. But, over aromatic food and exotic drinks back in Lahore, Changez relates in a one-sided conservation with an American traveller how he never felt entirely at ease and how the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the subsequent repercussions - both political and personal ones - roused him from his American Dream: his reluctance to follow the advice of his mentor in business to focus on the fundamentals is replaced by an hankering to concentrate on fundamentals of a very different sort.
Yet at times the very sparsity which makes the novel so compelling leaves the reader in a void of ignorance. One is, for instance, driven to seek to understand Changez's conversion but the text provides so little challenge to Changez's narrative that it is left flimsy, incomplete and thus unresolved. This is perhaps Hamid's intention - to set out clearly that there are no easy answers; that Westerners will always fail to understand the East. In that sense this is a deeply unsettling novel and leaves one wishing for just a little more, a little more insight, a little more depth. The sense of `unfinishnessed' is only heightened by the ambiguous, unresolved but perfectly composed ending. Its short listing for the Booker Prize can be justified on the grounds of its fine prose, well-worked form and challenging topics alone but one can equally understand why it didn't win. It is perhaps in the end just a tad too ambiguous, too ethereal, to deliver the sort of challenge which would make it stand head and shoulders above the rest. All round an excellent read which will linger.
Yet at times the very sparsity which makes the novel so compelling leaves the reader in a void of ignorance. One is, for instance, driven to seek to understand Changez's conversion but the text provides so little challenge to Changez's narrative that it is left flimsy, incomplete and thus unresolved. This is perhaps Hamid's intention - to set out clearly that there are no easy answers; that Westerners will always fail to understand the East. In that sense this is a deeply unsettling novel and leaves one wishing for just a little more, a little more insight, a little more depth. The sense of `unfinishnessed' is only heightened by the ambiguous, unresolved but perfectly composed ending. Its short listing for the Booker Prize can be justified on the grounds of its fine prose, well-worked form and challenging topics alone but one can equally understand why it didn't win. It is perhaps in the end just a tad too ambiguous, too ethereal, to deliver the sort of challenge which would make it stand head and shoulders above the rest. All round an excellent read which will linger.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Compelling work- I read it in one sitting
One of those books I didn't think I'd like from the title, having no particular interest in Islam or politics.
But I was immediately drawn into it. Read more
But I was immediately drawn into it. Read more
Published 12 days ago by sally tarbox
Who is the fundamentalist?
This book gripped me from start to finish, wondering whether to trust the narrator, challenging me to consider my perspective on East meeting West and persuading me to read... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Bookworm
a smart read
This is a really clever read and for the most part beautifully written. A Pakistani man's love/hate affair with America, a place where he thinks he belongs and doesn't. Read more
Published 28 days ago by murmuration
Just as good second time around
When my book club selected two books I had previously read, my instant choice was the Reluctant Fundamentalist. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Heather
Delightful - A Must Have
I was recommended this book by a colleague at work. I was slightly apprehensive as it was nothing like the genre of book that I would normally choose. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dexterland
Curate's Egg
Rubbish story brilliantly told!
If you've been to the developing world you will have been approached by someone who starts talking to you, usually offering something,... Read more
If you've been to the developing world you will have been approached by someone who starts talking to you, usually offering something,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Drifter
A subtle and beautiful novel, a fantastic read
I believe a number of readers are fooled by the title of the novel into expecting something different from this book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by E. Best
Surprisingly good
I bought this as a required reading item for university, so was therefore expecting it to be rather dull and boring. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Pen
Lazy storyline and a complete ripoff of Camus's The Fall
The title and blurb of the book really interested me and I looked forward to a refreshing and insightful view on Islam. But I found the entire book a complete disappointment. Read more
Published 6 months ago by JB869
Look into your soul
Author is looking deeply into his soul over the good, bad and just happening moments of his life. He goes through fascination of American way of life, 1st love, corporation rat... Read more
Published 7 months ago by jarro
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