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montsett's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Death, Mental illness, and Racism
katharina90's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Loved the stylistic choice of the one-sided dialogue, the voice of the Pakistani narrator, and the ambiguous ending.
Great commentary on US imperialism, capitalism, the immigrant experience in general, and the rampant racism and islamophobia post-9/11 in particular.
Didn't care for the Erica storyline, whether it's supposed to serve as an allegory or not.
"As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away. Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity, but also in your own."
Great commentary on US imperialism, capitalism, the immigrant experience in general, and the rampant racism and islamophobia post-9/11 in particular.
Didn't care for the Erica storyline, whether it's supposed to serve as an allegory or not.
"As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away. Such an America had to be stopped in the interests not only of the rest of humanity, but also in your own."
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Islamophobia, and Mental illness
joensign's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Suicide, Islamophobia, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer
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
yliana's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i really enjoyed this book.
i read it for my writing class and i was honestly really into the writing style. I don't think i've ever read a book that was more of a monologue, especially with the listener never directly talking to the main character.
there weren't really any characters that i loved. i honestly think the only characters that i liked were changez and wainwright, especially since erica gave me manic pixie dream girl vibes. she really has no actual personality, in my opinion, she's just there for changez to be obsessed with.
changez's switch from loving america to...not loving it felt very natural. it was interesting to see how he rejected the fact that he was likely going to be faced with discriminationo after 9/11 solely because he was a princeton kid. i think that did a really good job of showing how easy it is to leave your identity behind to blend in to a new place or culture. also the fact that the elite and privileged are often incredibly disconnected and ignorant to what everyone below them is dealing with.
yeah, i liked this book a lot and the commentary made about the u.s. was just so on point and i wish people here could put their pride aside for just a minute so they can actually listen.
i read it for my writing class and i was honestly really into the writing style. I don't think i've ever read a book that was more of a monologue, especially with the listener never directly talking to the main character.
there weren't really any characters that i loved. i honestly think the only characters that i liked were changez and wainwright, especially since erica gave me manic pixie dream girl vibes. she really has no actual personality, in my opinion, she's just there for changez to be obsessed with.
changez's switch from loving america to...not loving it felt very natural. it was interesting to see how he rejected the fact that he was likely going to be faced with discriminationo after 9/11 solely because he was a princeton kid. i think that did a really good job of showing how easy it is to leave your identity behind to blend in to a new place or culture. also the fact that the elite and privileged are often incredibly disconnected and ignorant to what everyone below them is dealing with.
yeah, i liked this book a lot and the commentary made about the u.s. was just so on point and i wish people here could put their pride aside for just a minute so they can actually listen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and War
simoneg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Suicide
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
cadybooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Colonisation
mayab1226's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this! I read it for a college course on Asian American Fiction; from the title, I probably would never have picked it up given the choice, but after finishing it I think it and No-No Boy are my two favorite books I’ve read in the class so far.
I liked the premise of the second-person narration with a homodiegetic narratee (can you tell I read this for a college class?)—I thought it would come off as pretentious, but in my opinion it flowed naturally and didn’t seem pretentious at all. Plus, it added to the story through a mystery of who exactly the narratee (the American man to whom Changez tells the whole story) was. I found Changez’s narrative voice engaging and enjoyable to read; out of all of the books I’ve read for this course so far, he is the protagonist with whom I’ve felt the most connected. Perhaps it’s because of the gregarious tone with whom he speaks to the American man—I didn’t even notice the more sinister bent it was taking until the novel’s second half—or his offhanded references to Star Trek and The Great Gatsby? Either way, it made reading the novel a more enjoyable experience.
This novel dealt with fascinating themes of the Asian/South Asian immigrant experience; the pervasive drug that is nostalgia; American politics, culture, and Islamophobia after 9/11; and ultimately the question of what “America” means, through Changez’s journey of falling in, then out of, love with it. I wasn’t yet born at the time of 9/11, so I can’t speak to whether this book’s portrayal of American culture after the event rings true with my experience. But it was fascinating to read about—I especially liked this quote: “Your country’s flag invaded New York after the attacks; it was everywhere.…They all seemed to proclaim: We are America…the mightiest civilization the world has ever known; you have slighted us; beware our wrath.” A major theme of this book is deconstructing American exceptionalism—the idea that America is unique, special, or better than other countries just by virtue of being, well, America. Changez chips away at this idea throughout the novel—for instance, by comparing Asian cities like Lahore and Manila to New York City (it’s not the world’s only shining metropolis!). In addition, through the use of narrative devices that serve as microcosms of America, like Erica (America) and Underwood Samson (U.S.—it took me far too long to figure that out), he deconstructs the idea of the American dream and of meritocracy.
Speaking of Erica, although I understand this is literary fiction and she was a narrative device, I think she as a character had dangerous potential to slip into Manic Pixie Dream Girl-land, but that this was ultimately averted. The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl refers to a quirky, usually white woman who exists solely to bring spice, variety, and wonder into the male protagonist’s life, without having an inner life or ambitions of her own. Erica, though, was clearly portrayed as having her own life and struggles with mental health that Changez, try as he might, ultimately couldn’t penetrate. She ultimately chooses “not to be part of [his] story; her own had proven too compelling.” And although the way the end of her story(in other words, her suicide) is portrayed, to me, feels a bit romanticizing in an unhealthy way, I ultimately am okay with the way Erica was portrayed.
In conclusion, this book was a pleasant surprise and I’d absolutely recommend it. Although it’s short and the narrative voice is more conversational than that of other literary fiction, it deals with difficult topics and will definitely take a bit to truly digest (as it did for me, especially after class discussion). But in my opinion, this book is worth it.
I liked the premise of the second-person narration with a homodiegetic narratee (can you tell I read this for a college class?)—I thought it would come off as pretentious, but in my opinion it flowed naturally and didn’t seem pretentious at all. Plus, it added to the story through a mystery of who exactly the narratee (the American man to whom Changez tells the whole story) was. I found Changez’s narrative voice engaging and enjoyable to read; out of all of the books I’ve read for this course so far, he is the protagonist with whom I’ve felt the most connected. Perhaps it’s because of the gregarious tone with whom he speaks to the American man—I didn’t even notice the more sinister bent it was taking until the novel’s second half—or his offhanded references to Star Trek and The Great Gatsby? Either way, it made reading the novel a more enjoyable experience.
This novel dealt with fascinating themes of the Asian/South Asian immigrant experience; the pervasive drug that is nostalgia; American politics, culture, and Islamophobia after 9/11; and ultimately the question of what “America” means, through Changez’s journey of falling in, then out of, love with it. I wasn’t yet born at the time of 9/11, so I can’t speak to whether this book’s portrayal of American culture after the event rings true with my experience. But it was fascinating to read about—I especially liked this quote: “Your country’s flag invaded New York after the attacks; it was everywhere.…They all seemed to proclaim: We are America…the mightiest civilization the world has ever known; you have slighted us; beware our wrath.” A major theme of this book is deconstructing American exceptionalism—the idea that America is unique, special, or better than other countries just by virtue of being, well, America. Changez chips away at this idea throughout the novel—for instance, by comparing Asian cities like Lahore and Manila to New York City (it’s not the world’s only shining metropolis!). In addition, through the use of narrative devices that serve as microcosms of America, like Erica (America) and Underwood Samson (U.S.—it took me far too long to figure that out), he deconstructs the idea of the American dream and of meritocracy.
Speaking of Erica, although I understand this is literary fiction and she was a narrative device, I think she as a character had dangerous potential to slip into Manic Pixie Dream Girl-land, but that this was ultimately averted. The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl refers to a quirky, usually white woman who exists solely to bring spice, variety, and wonder into the male protagonist’s life, without having an inner life or ambitions of her own. Erica, though, was clearly portrayed as having her own life and struggles with mental health that Changez, try as he might, ultimately couldn’t penetrate. She ultimately chooses “not to be part of [his] story; her own had proven too compelling.” And although the way the end of her story
In conclusion, this book was a pleasant surprise and I’d absolutely recommend it. Although it’s short and the narrative voice is more conversational than that of other literary fiction, it deals with difficult topics and will definitely take a bit to truly digest (as it did for me, especially after class discussion). But in my opinion, this book is worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia and Racism
Moderate: Suicide
thayer_m's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia