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natashalovesducks's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime and Eating disorder
emily_zylstra02's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Violence, Classism, Eating disorder, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, and Racism
kktaylor11's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Several years ago a friend told me I should read this book. I murmured appropriate assent and promptly forgot it. There are so many books in the world and this was another title I'd "get around to reading someday."
Yesterday my daughter got the book list for an upcoming college lit class and the titles caught my eye. The class focuses on the literature of 9/11 through "outside eyes" and this book was at the top of the list. I recognized the title, picked it up, turned it over, opened it up, read a few lines...sat down... and the rest is history.
If you've read my reviews, you know I'm fairly stingy with my 5 star reviews. I save them for Austen and Hawthorne and Morrison and those whose writing makes me want to write. Now I will list Hamid among those names. (Side note - I realized I'd read another of his books a few years ago - Exit West. It's a novella about refugees able to escape through physical doors that drop them into life on the other side of the world. It felt like it brushed the edges of "exceptional" but didn't quite get there....)
I devoured this book...at first, simply captivated by the narrator's voice and unusual style. Changez, the main character, introduces himself as if he is meeting you (the ubiquitous American) in the middle of a Pakistani market, and before you know it, you are sitting down together at a table for tea, a meal, and his life story...the story of how he left Pakistan to find the "American Dream" through the door of a Princeton education, how he found success in a New York acquisitions and valuations firm, and the choices he made following 9/11. I will whole heartedly admit there were moments I felt were heavy handed. (The beard seemed forced...incongruous) - but overall the writing is like a great massage to the brain....layer after layer of gentle touch, with moments of pain as a troubling knot is worked out. This book made ME want to be back in class -- to write papers about the way Hamid so beautifully contrasts his frame story comments with the depth of the story he is recounting: "Here we are not squeamish when it comes to facing the consequences of our desire..." Changez says about the meats dripping fat while roasting in the market - and yet you cannot help but apply the words to the American life he has been describing as well. So many times these moments jumped out-- hidden gems begging to be challenged, discussed, debated. The book (like so many great books) is uncomfortable at times - as an American who lived through 9/11 there were moments I wanted to throw the book across the room...but if you're willing to listen, think and question you can hear an echo of hope still present.
After all, a pile of folded clothes can be a promise of leaving the past behind in rebirth - or they can indicate an imminent attack. It's all in how you choose to view it.
One of the best things I've read this year.
Yesterday my daughter got the book list for an upcoming college lit class and the titles caught my eye. The class focuses on the literature of 9/11 through "outside eyes" and this book was at the top of the list. I recognized the title, picked it up, turned it over, opened it up, read a few lines...sat down... and the rest is history.
If you've read my reviews, you know I'm fairly stingy with my 5 star reviews. I save them for Austen and Hawthorne and Morrison and those whose writing makes me want to write. Now I will list Hamid among those names. (Side note - I realized I'd read another of his books a few years ago - Exit West. It's a novella about refugees able to escape through physical doors that drop them into life on the other side of the world. It felt like it brushed the edges of "exceptional" but didn't quite get there....)
I devoured this book...at first, simply captivated by the narrator's voice and unusual style. Changez, the main character, introduces himself as if he is meeting you (the ubiquitous American) in the middle of a Pakistani market, and before you know it, you are sitting down together at a table for tea, a meal, and his life story...the story of how he left Pakistan to find the "American Dream" through the door of a Princeton education, how he found success in a New York acquisitions and valuations firm, and the choices he made following 9/11. I will whole heartedly admit there were moments I felt were heavy handed. (The beard seemed forced...incongruous) - but overall the writing is like a great massage to the brain....layer after layer of gentle touch, with moments of pain as a troubling knot is worked out. This book made ME want to be back in class -- to write papers about the way Hamid so beautifully contrasts his frame story comments with the depth of the story he is recounting: "Here we are not squeamish when it comes to facing the consequences of our desire..." Changez says about the meats dripping fat while roasting in the market - and yet you cannot help but apply the words to the American life he has been describing as well. So many times these moments jumped out-- hidden gems begging to be challenged, discussed, debated. The book (like so many great books) is uncomfortable at times - as an American who lived through 9/11 there were moments I wanted to throw the book across the room...but if you're willing to listen, think and question you can hear an echo of hope still present.
After all, a pile of folded clothes can be a promise of leaving the past behind in rebirth - or they can indicate an imminent attack. It's all in how you choose to view it.
One of the best things I've read this year.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Sexual content
Readers should be aware that at the surface level this can seem "Anti-American." The story centers on the main character's reflection on his life in America and choice to leave America. However, a discerning reader will find depth to the analysis, and an open door to the recognition of the positives of America.golden_angele's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Xenophobia, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Dysphoria, and Death
eve81's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Racism, Islamophobia, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
202claire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Islamophobia, Mental illness, and War
Minor: Eating disorder
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