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altowns's review against another edition
4.0
A very unusual book - I don't think I've read anything like it! Good fun and an easy read. I think the self-help framing is a bit more odd though.
banned_book's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Just when I think I'm finished with cynical authors - no one does it like Mohsin Hamid. To be candid, I'm a sucker for the second person on account of my overusing it in high school poetry. I know it's kitsch. Mostly I'm impressed by how he embodied ennui whilst successfully operating within the bounds of corrupt political and social systems, yet never named a single character.
aarongertler's review against another edition
5.0
No other book this year gave me such a vivid picture of its setting. In Filthy Rich, Mohsin Hamid tells of a nameless country (likely Pakistan) and the second-person protagonist who leaves a poor neighborhood for the big city. There, he becomes ("you become") a water-bottle manufacturer with enough money for a team of armed guards. (To ward off assassination from rival water-bottlers, of course.)
The book is an instruction manual, and Hamid takes his work seriously. You learn to bribe officials, pirate DVDs, and meet new people by growing a beard and becoming an Islamist. These lessons are given in good humor, and you quickly come to root for your own success, even as you become a thief and a killer and a bad husband.
Filthy Rich could have been set in any number of countries, and those countries make up something like ninety percent of the world's population. In today's world, wealth and vice appear to be nearly inseparable. This may not be a new condition, but it still makes me wonder how the world, Rising Asia and elsewhere, will transition to reward invention rather than force.
But don't just read it because it makes me sad. Read it because it's funny, and because it tells a nation's story in a third of the space normally required for such endeavors.
The book is an instruction manual, and Hamid takes his work seriously. You learn to bribe officials, pirate DVDs, and meet new people by growing a beard and becoming an Islamist. These lessons are given in good humor, and you quickly come to root for your own success, even as you become a thief and a killer and a bad husband.
Filthy Rich could have been set in any number of countries, and those countries make up something like ninety percent of the world's population. In today's world, wealth and vice appear to be nearly inseparable. This may not be a new condition, but it still makes me wonder how the world, Rising Asia and elsewhere, will transition to reward invention rather than force.
But don't just read it because it makes me sad. Read it because it's funny, and because it tells a nation's story in a third of the space normally required for such endeavors.
marcymurli's review against another edition
4.0
Brilliant. Witty. Hilarious. Clever. This book is a must read. Enough said!
evacos's review against another edition
4.0
Uhm.... would anyone like to explain what that burping fish had to do with anything?
ziagouel's review against another edition
4.0
What a beautiful, moving little book. On such small space the author managed to achieve something others couldn’t in tenfold of pages. I loved his humour and the empathy he had for his characters.
amjammi's review against another edition
4.0
Hamid seems to enjoy contrived plot devices (e.g. this novel disguised as a self-help book) but inside the forced frames he beautifully captures truth and humanity.
hallae23's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0