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joweston's review against another edition
4.0
Ooo, well that surprised me. It's nudging four stars, possibly 3.5 in reality. Doesn't have quite the impact of The Reluctant Fundamentalist (which I rated 4 but which is probably a 4.5) but I loved the pacy narration, despite the fact that the book spanned decades. It often felt almost real time. And ultimately, it was a quirky and touching love story.
kpjt_books's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent read. Recommended to me by my Mom. Short, but fantastically told story with a very unique narrative style.
meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
Audacious and successful novel written in second person, with the added element of each chapter opening with a framework of a self-help book about how to rise out of crushing poverty in an unnamed Asian city. It had the feeling of being edited down tightly, as if the superfluous had been taken out and this was what was left.
dcherry_pie's review against another edition
3.0
3.5! The language was beautiful at parts. Definitely a different book than ones I’ve read recently
francisbru's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
saracat's review against another edition
4.0
I can't recall having read any other second person books before, but I am curious to give more a try after this. I think part of what made the second person work for this novel was the fact that many details around setting especially were rather vague. I am a person who enjoys stories that are simply about a person(s) life, which, at face value, is what this book is about. Though, I think it also is making commentary about social systems and other things in the course of the novel in the way it shows how the protagonists life progresses and changes over the course of their life.
I definitely want to read more by this author in the future.
Content Warning: some short, somewhat graphic descriptions of bodily functions including one sex scene
I definitely want to read more by this author in the future.
Content Warning: some short, somewhat graphic descriptions of bodily functions including one sex scene
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up a used copy of this book while in Key West at the end of August. Written in the second person, in the form of a self-help book ( at least in the first paragraph or page of every section) that quickly segued into a novel, it follows our unnamed narrator through his life. Deftly written, it is light and humorous on the surface, but becomes a serious commentary on life in Asia, about a man trying to rise out of his humble origins. Parts of this story were familiar and parts were a surprise. Mohsin Hamid has a sharp eye and a sharper pen. For a slight book about a foreign country and society, it is worth spending an afternoon reading.
ainepalmtree's review against another edition
while i could never shake off the sense that the second person address didn't amount to much more than a gimmick, I am a sucker for novels that stretch from childhood to old age, and even more of a sucker for a poignantly happy ending. even if the self-help structuring was a little bit too clever for its own good, and the plot perhaps not especially complex or exciting, Hamid's intelligent and shrewd observations make this nevertheless enjoyable
glindaaa's review against another edition
2.0
I am not entirely sure what I think. Strangely said I like the writing style I just don't like the narration. I am not even sure if that is possible. The chapters were easy to read, I liked the first few paragraphs that explained why it was a self-help book but the narration that continued about the boy-man-grown up-whatever you want to call it, that was not really interesting. The narration was short and to the point which in a way is fine but I did not get why it was that way and it just felt slightly... I don't know impossible? How did the illegal water company become a big bucks company... I missed the steps (cuz heck yea make me rich).
So it was okay, to the change of maybe I liked it; I did not feel like dropping the book or anything, so that was something as well. I considered giving it 3 stars but Goodreads said you liked it and I am not sure again if I did. The book was okay as two stars say.
(Maybe it was the obsession with the pretty girl that made it meh for me... still not sure)
So it was okay, to the change of maybe I liked it; I did not feel like dropping the book or anything, so that was something as well. I considered giving it 3 stars but Goodreads said you liked it and I am not sure again if I did. The book was okay as two stars say.
(Maybe it was the obsession with the pretty girl that made it meh for me... still not sure)