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Discontent and Its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York, and London by Mohsin Hamid
claire's review against another edition
5.0
After rearranging my bookshelves and separating the books I haven't read yet, I asked some of my friends to randomly pick a number so I could begin to compile my March/Cavite Exile TBR. I forgot I had this book in the first place and was surprised to find out that I willingly bought a non-fiction book, but then I remembered that I didn't know it was non-fiction at the time (roughly 3 years ago—woah!)
I really enjoyed this book! Easy to read and engaging, especially to me, because of the variety in the lengths, themes, and tones of the essays. I never found myself bored even as it delved into topics I wasn't familiar with.
I would like to try reading Hamid's novels because I grew to admire his writing in his non-fiction book, so what more in a novel?
I really enjoyed this book! Easy to read and engaging, especially to me, because of the variety in the lengths, themes, and tones of the essays. I never found myself bored even as it delved into topics I wasn't familiar with.
I would like to try reading Hamid's novels because I grew to admire his writing in his non-fiction book, so what more in a novel?
moris_deri's review against another edition
2.0
Have you ever opened a bottle of Moët that you have kept for a while waiting for that one special occasion, only for the excitement to be doused by the sad epiphany that the wine was flat? That’s exactly how I felt after 200 pages of this bore.
This is akin to something an established author has to release in between his better books because the publisher expects him to so do. There is nothing profound in this – just random, half-baked observations of his world as he travels back and forth between Asia and the UK.
This is akin to something an established author has to release in between his better books because the publisher expects him to so do. There is nothing profound in this – just random, half-baked observations of his world as he travels back and forth between Asia and the UK.
miekookeim's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
A collection that solidified Mohsin Hamid’s position as one of my top favorite authors. This was the last book of his that I had left to read and I was glad to be familiar with his fiction going into it. Wonderful essays that are organized in a way that flows seamlessly. Occasionally the Politics section dragged, but as I continued through it, those denser moments felt necessary to inform and tie together the rest. Great read.
krich075's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
katherinevarga's review against another edition
A collection of previously published short nonfiction arranged with a lot of care and thought. I loved the first two sections on life and art; I don't have quite enough context to appreciate the section on politics but enjoyed the grouping of essays, how Hamid orders pieces to be in conversation with each other. My favorite is probably "Enduring Love of the Second Person" for so succinctly grasping the allure of fiction.
mxae's review against another edition
5.0
The world needs more books like this. Equal parts beautiful, literary, and honest, it strikes at the core of things we all need undone, namely walls, borders, and monolithic group identities.
shaunnow38's review
5.0
Compelling collection of essays encompassing Life, Art, and Politics, with a particular focus on Globalization, Pakistan, and the human effects of the war on terror. Utterly humane at every moment.
Hamid structures his book in overlapping sections, starting with Life. The essays move chronologically and create something of a narrative logic to the whole collection. Hamid begins with reflections on his childhood in Lahore, Palo Alto, and back to Lahore, then back to America for University. Notable here are "Art and Other Pakistans" and "In Concert, No Touching" as explorations of the personal and the profound.
The collection moves forward with more recollections and reflections that are fraught with both anxiety and wonder. Hamid covers his working life in both New York and London, as well his eventual return to Lahore. Looming over these next few sections is 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror. Here I was most struck by "A Home for Water Lilies", "Down the Tube", "On Fatherhood", and "Personal and Political Intertwined". Hamid increasingly discusses the process of migration, and even the very process of living in a "Western" country, as well as their inherent difficulties in a post-9/11 world for someone of Pakistani descent. There are moments of incredible tenderness in these essays, but also in the sense of a rawness due to the anxiety of the period.
After Life, we have Art, and a series of very interesting essays that are tinged with the anxiety and wonder of the previous section, but a different sense of urgency. There are a number of great essays in this section, including "My Reluctant Fundamentalist", "Rereading","Get Fit with Haruki Murakami", "Enduring Love of the Second Person", and "Where Is the Great American Novel by a Woman?", all of which touch on various strains of 21st century literary thought. Hamid writes all of these essays from the perspective of a novelist and a subject of the modern world, rather than simply that of the critic. There is passion in each of these essays, whether or not Hamid loves every aspect of the subject he is writing about.
The last section is entitled Politics, and nicely ties together the collection. The essays in this section really highlight the intersections that Hamid states throughout the book. It is also the most interesting to my sensibilities, because it is both analytic and personal. Some of the best essays from this section are "Fear and Silence", "Feverish and Flooded, Pakistan Can Yet Thrive", "Discontent and Its Civilization", "Why They Get Pakistan Wrong", and "Islam is not a Monolith". These pieces tie into one another most coherently and cogently as well, and often have Pakistan as the most central figure of discussion. This does not preclude the discussion of other nations, nor does Hamid treat as his main subject figureless and indistinct national identities. Rather, Hamid considers the people and personal, as much as he considers the policies. That is what this most compelling to me, as it never strays into too broad of abstractions.
In essence, read this book. Even the essays I have not highlighted are incredible and thought-provoking. Hamid writes so as to never seem monolithic, nor as to seem to divorced from the issues he is most concerned with. This book is a journey through the last 15 to 20 years of Mohsin Hamid's life, as much as it is an examination of global modernity. It is not a novel, but it has much in the way of character.
Hamid structures his book in overlapping sections, starting with Life. The essays move chronologically and create something of a narrative logic to the whole collection. Hamid begins with reflections on his childhood in Lahore, Palo Alto, and back to Lahore, then back to America for University. Notable here are "Art and Other Pakistans" and "In Concert, No Touching" as explorations of the personal and the profound.
The collection moves forward with more recollections and reflections that are fraught with both anxiety and wonder. Hamid covers his working life in both New York and London, as well his eventual return to Lahore. Looming over these next few sections is 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror. Here I was most struck by "A Home for Water Lilies", "Down the Tube", "On Fatherhood", and "Personal and Political Intertwined". Hamid increasingly discusses the process of migration, and even the very process of living in a "Western" country, as well as their inherent difficulties in a post-9/11 world for someone of Pakistani descent. There are moments of incredible tenderness in these essays, but also in the sense of a rawness due to the anxiety of the period.
After Life, we have Art, and a series of very interesting essays that are tinged with the anxiety and wonder of the previous section, but a different sense of urgency. There are a number of great essays in this section, including "My Reluctant Fundamentalist", "Rereading","Get Fit with Haruki Murakami", "Enduring Love of the Second Person", and "Where Is the Great American Novel by a Woman?", all of which touch on various strains of 21st century literary thought. Hamid writes all of these essays from the perspective of a novelist and a subject of the modern world, rather than simply that of the critic. There is passion in each of these essays, whether or not Hamid loves every aspect of the subject he is writing about.
The last section is entitled Politics, and nicely ties together the collection. The essays in this section really highlight the intersections that Hamid states throughout the book. It is also the most interesting to my sensibilities, because it is both analytic and personal. Some of the best essays from this section are "Fear and Silence", "Feverish and Flooded, Pakistan Can Yet Thrive", "Discontent and Its Civilization", "Why They Get Pakistan Wrong", and "Islam is not a Monolith". These pieces tie into one another most coherently and cogently as well, and often have Pakistan as the most central figure of discussion. This does not preclude the discussion of other nations, nor does Hamid treat as his main subject figureless and indistinct national identities. Rather, Hamid considers the people and personal, as much as he considers the policies. That is what this most compelling to me, as it never strays into too broad of abstractions.
In essence, read this book. Even the essays I have not highlighted are incredible and thought-provoking. Hamid writes so as to never seem monolithic, nor as to seem to divorced from the issues he is most concerned with. This book is a journey through the last 15 to 20 years of Mohsin Hamid's life, as much as it is an examination of global modernity. It is not a novel, but it has much in the way of character.