Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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59 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finely worked prose covering deeply felt issues but too unresolved to reach the highest marks, 31 Oct 2007
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.
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43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully balanced portrayal of the subtleties of East Vs West, 27 Feb 2008
WARNING: SPOILERS
I am responding to some of the criticisms of the book in other reviews(that it is simply anti-American), which I feel have completely misunderstood it. The premise of the book is a conversation between Changez (a Pakistani who used to live in New York) and an American. The conversation occurs in Changez's home town, Lahore and the narrative reports Changez's side of the conversation, so it reads like a monologue. As they talk throughout the day, Changez reports his time in America and the reason he is now living in Pakistan. In so doing, he highlights the post 9/11 tensions between America and Muslim countries.
One criticism below is that the book is simply anti-American and distastefully so. I would strongly disagree. The narrative seemed to me to be a love story between the Pakistani narrator, Changez, and the nation of America. The character's gradual disillusionment with America is counterbalanced by his love for it and longing to be part of it, and there is a hint at some disgust at himself for still having such a connection with it, through Erica, an American girl he fell in love with.
Another criticism made in these reviews is that his change of heart towards America is not adequately explained. I think in this case, 'less is more'. The fact that his 'falling out of love' with America is not fully explained seems perfectly natural: many divorcees find it difficult to explain their breakdown of relationship. The gradual distancing of himself from American culture is as much about a psychological struggle to reconcile his true identity as it is a critique on the country's politics.
Hamid seems to hold in tension throughout the narrative this 'love-hate' relationship between East and West and does it with great subtlety and art. As a Westerner, I think it brings the complex issues of Islamic fundamentalism and America's 'war on terror' to the fore with great sympathy and balance. So much so, that the ending, being ambiguous, leaves you facing your own prejudices. Who is in danger at the end, Changez or the American? Has Changez lured the American into a trap, as part of his new strategy to stop America, or is he entirely innocent? Is Changez under threat from the American or not? I don't believe that the ending is a weakness of the book. Rather, it is purposefully, wonderfully ambiguous, leaving the reader to challenge your own preconceptions and sterotypes - who do we see as the real enemy?
In conclusion, I think this book is excellently, sensitively written, delicately handling complex issues. It is not perfect, and at times the monologue style of the narrative can seem a little limiting or clumsy. But it is a very well-written, thoughtful book, that deserves a thoughtful, considered response.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read, 21 Nov 2007
Books about Islamic fundamentalism are all the rage at the moment; after all, it is one of the most important issues currently facing the world. So I was a little suspicious of this book - was its popularity due more to its trendy topicality than its quality? My suspicions were unfounded, however, as this is a very good book and deserves its sucess.
The narrator of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' is Changez, a charming and intelligent Pakistani, educated in the USA but now living in Lahore. The narration is in fact a rather one-sided conversation with an unnamed American whom Changez meets at a cafe, and to whom he tells the story of his time in America and explains why he decided to give up his lucrative job and return to Pakistan.
There is an intriguing ambiguity underlying the story - it is never clear whether Changez is the reasonable man he claims to be or if in fact his fundamentalism has taken a more sinister turn. Likewise, the intentions of his uneasy American dining partner are unclear. The lack of clarity over who is the enemy and who the wronged party could be seen as representative of the whole east-west power struggle. This ambiguity adds to the impact of the book and I have found myself wondering several times since what was really going on.
The writing is easy to read and engaging, immediately drawing the reader into the story. It's not a happy tale - as well as telling of Changez's slow disenchantment with the materialistic west it also covers the slow and tragic descent into madness of his American girlfriend. Even though nothing especially dramatic happens, I found it quite gripping - perhaps because of the way the narrative directly addresses the reader (through the trick of being a conversation with the unnamed American), which gives a sense of being personally involved.
The reasons for Changez's change of heart towards the west are never fully explained in great detail, although maybe so doing would have made boring reading. In some ways, it seems that even Changez himself doesn't fully understand the resentment that he begins to feel. I suppose it turned out to be less about Islamic extremism than I first imagined, and more of a personal story about Changez and his girlfriend Erica.
As a character, Changez is likeable and engaging, although there is always an element of suspicion in the reader's mind about his motives and the reliability of his narrative. He is certainly interesting enough to be worth reading about. The other characters are more sketchy, shown as they are through Changez's eyes only, and the story is very much centred on him.
Overall I would recommend this as an interesting and highly readable novel, which I think will appeal to most adult readers.
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