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bananacustard's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Cancer
kktaylor11's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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.lovegriefandgender's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness
cadybooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Colonisation
greatsilverini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
thayer_m's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
madde's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Moderate: Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts