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lottie1803's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, War, and Islamophobia
princesspersephone's review against another edition
4.0
Nice quick read. Felt like conversing with a friend. This book has a few sections, split between his lived experiences, art and how it has affected his life, and then the political views he expresses at the end.
“The United States needs to address this contradiction. It seeks to stand for national greatness and human equality. Yet its greatness is in part built upon the denial of the equality of others outside its borders” (141).
Learned a bit from another perspective and how small things stick with us over time.
“The United States needs to address this contradiction. It seeks to stand for national greatness and human equality. Yet its greatness is in part built upon the denial of the equality of others outside its borders” (141).
Learned a bit from another perspective and how small things stick with us over time.
saazhar's review against another edition
5.0
At some point in the early 2000s, perhaps shortly after the first reread of Moth Smoke, I realized I wanted to have several cups of coffee with Mohsin Hamid, to understand how he writes. Now I want to even more - the eloquence of his views and the subject matter would make wonderful fodder for endless conversations.
joeynedland's review against another edition
4.0
I love the way Mohsin Hamid writes. Damn. Even straightforward political writing is written artfully, and brings you lucidly into the perspective with which he views the world.
As far as a collection of short stories goes, this had a relatively clear through line (life, art, politics) wherein political writings were imbued with the voice established through memoir-ish writings. Great, short, and engaging.
As far as a collection of short stories goes, this had a relatively clear through line (life, art, politics) wherein political writings were imbued with the voice established through memoir-ish writings. Great, short, and engaging.
vishals's review against another edition
3.0
His other books are far better and I feel that unless you really have appreciated him as an author after reading some of his previous books, it doesn't really make sense to take this on.
If you've liked his work enough and want to gain an insight into how his perspective of the world was shaped then this one is for you. Based on the essays at different points in time presented in the book, you can see the author grow - the quality of his writing gets more refined.
If you've liked his work enough and want to gain an insight into how his perspective of the world was shaped then this one is for you. Based on the essays at different points in time presented in the book, you can see the author grow - the quality of his writing gets more refined.
onomatopoeia320's review against another edition
3.0
This book is full of enlightening information about a different Pakistan than the one so frequently in the news for all the wrong reasons. And, since it is written by a man who spent many of his formative years in Pakistan, and one who lives there now, I will accept that his perception is more closely aligned with the "real" Pakistan than the perception of, say, CNN. This aspect of the book piqued my interest, and the end result was satisfying. The reason I give only 3 stars (probably more like 3.5) is because I found is writing to be a bit cutesy at times. I've never read his novels--this is a collection of essays--so I don't know if it's a fluke or if his writing is consistently like this. The highlight of this book, for me, was the chapter about drone warfare and it's human impact on Pakistanis.
anshumanchurian's review against another edition
4.0
An important, illuminating, engaging and surprisingly timely (considering that the pieces were written over the span of more than a decade) collection of essays - required reading for all of us, people from India, Pakistan, the UK, the US and all over the world.