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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I've had a few weeks to percolate on this text. I still stand by 4 stars but ultimately, I think the text was successful in calling out the racialization of South Asian's post 9/11 and forcing the reader to examine their own racism by providing mirroring techniques every few pages. There are times when Hamid blatantly states the point in the text and they are a but jolting but if you need to wait for those moments to get it, this was written for you.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took a long time for me to like this book, as I described my reading experience to a friend: ‘I don’t dislike it enough to stop, but I don’t like it enough to read it quickly.’
It feels like a lot of intricate set up that suddenly pays off in the end but I believe, with this in mind, that it would be a much more satisfying second read. (However, I won’t be doing that anytime soon)
All of that to one side, I did enjoy this book - it was an interesting and insightful read, with important details carefully threaded throughout the narrative, and it is this breadcrumbing that makes the final scene so powerful - as you, the reader, see the plot unravel.
It feels like a lot of intricate set up that suddenly pays off in the end but I believe, with this in mind, that it would be a much more satisfying second read. (However, I won’t be doing that anytime soon)
All of that to one side, I did enjoy this book - it was an interesting and insightful read, with important details carefully threaded throughout the narrative, and it is this breadcrumbing that makes the final scene so powerful - as you, the reader, see the plot unravel.
This book was heart wrenching but also so beautiful. At a loss for words
I don't think this will be an easy book to forget. It is a slim volume and - to a certain degree - deceptivly titled. The title intriqued me and, while I'm not certain I expected a political thriller, I wasn't quite prepared for the story that unfolded. At its heart, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of a young man not quite at home in two worlds and the journey he goes on while watching those to worlds come into conflict. I was struck by how Hamid managed to in the same prose put us at ease with his narrator - a charming fellow - while racheting up the tension of his life and decisions. Hamid paints a story so placed in a world of grey that I found myself equally identifying with the main character and the nameless man to whom he adresses his story. By the novel's intriquing - albiet slightly telegraphed - ending I wasn't ready to let go.
This book is completely fascinating simply from the point of view it is written in. It is a quick and easy read, although it can be very unsettling at times.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Intriguing with a twist you won't see coming.
So many beautiful sentences in this one, with such a fresh look at issues from different viewpoints.
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The narration style is unique - Changez speaks to us as he conducts a conversation over a meal one evening. His story spans years of his early twenties. While the book seems quite superficial, it’d be a fun book club read since there’s many inside jokes. His love/hate for (am)Erica. The name of his company and the name of the book.