The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 9780151013043 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingbooklady331wing of Cape Coral, Florida USA on 4/15/2008
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4 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingbooklady331wing from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Hardback

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Journal Entry 2 by wingbooklady331wing from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Beautifully written. This is why I gave it a 9 even though I was repelled by the main character's reactions/actions.

The story centers around a meeting at an outdoor café in Lahore between a Pakistani man named Changez and a suspicious-looking American with the bearing that makes him out to be either military or intelligence agent. Changez engages the man initially in tea and conversation. After awhile, seeing the American most attentive --and also a bit wary of his surroundings, the Pakistani orders dinner for the two of them; meanwhile going deeper into his memories about times spent in America, as a student at Princeton and later as a rising star at a New York valuation firm. Changez also recollects his budding romance with Erica, the daughter of a wealthy investment banker who was sure to enable Changez's entry to high society. Changez was well on his way to success when the twin towers of the World Trade Center came tumbling down on September 11, 2001.


The monologue telling of this story is engaging. Changez holds the reader spellbound as he keeps the unidentified American man's interest for hours. Mohsin Hamid's gift for words and symbolism, and the intricacies he creates with them, is astounding. Admittedly, some of Changez actions and statements will repel many of us American readers (his gleeful response to the jets slamming into the Twin Towers certainly did it to me); it did me.

Journal Entry 3 by wingbooklady331wing at By Mail, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, February 18, 2010

Released 14 yrs ago (2/18/2010 UTC) at By Mail, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases

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Enjoy! A 1001 book off as a RABCK

Journal Entry 4 by jsmeltser from Fort Madison, Iowa USA on Monday, March 1, 2010
Received as a RABCK from Booklady331. This looks like a really good one. Can't wait to read it! Thanks!

Journal Entry 5 by flewry at St. Petersburg, Florida USA on Sunday, January 23, 2011
Selected from the 1001 Bookbox. Thank you!

Journal Entry 6 by flewry at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Sunday, October 4, 2015

Released 8 yrs ago (10/4/2015 UTC) at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

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I have flagged this to read on Kindle so I can let this copy go. Thanks for sharing it! It is now traveling in my Fiction and Literature bookbox.

Journal Entry 7 by JudySlump612 at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Thursday, October 29, 2015
Chosen from flewry's Fiction and Literature bookbox

Journal Entry 8 by JudySlump612 at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, December 15, 2015
So what is a fundamentalist? I had assumed a religious connection, and my dictionary confirms this, defining fundamentalism as "a form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture." But that's not what Changez turns into. I'm not sure exactly what his motivation is. The only change I can point to is his disillusionment with his job valuing companies, knowing that it's likely to cause people to lose their jobs. He seems friendly enough to the American he casually meets and takes to dinner.

it struck me how many people in this book are trying to live in the past: his girlfriend Erica, unable to let go of her dead boyfriend Chris; his family in Pakistan, barely clinging to their eroding social status; even Changez himself, repudiating his hard-won opportunity for financial success. I agree with booklady331 that he's a good narrator, even when I didn't like his actions, I didn't want to stop reading.

The framing device of the snippets of discussion between Changez and the American stranger also worked very well in holding my interest. We could sense that something was going on below the surface, and although I was baffled by the ending, I liked being left with some unanswered questions.

But that's just one person's opinion. Future readers, what do YOU think of this book?

Released 8 yrs ago (12/15/2015 UTC) at Red Cross Blood Donor Center - 505 W 98th St. in Bloomington, Minnesota USA

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On bookshelf in donor waiting area

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