A review by levishak
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

5.0

Since I gave the book 5 stars, I would say I found the book compelling, moving, and memorable. In a spare writing style, the author strikes hard at the American capitalist ethos that causes questionable results. Ivy League colleges--in this book, Princeton-- groom its graduates to join elite firms which offer huge salaries but are capable of destruction of livelihoods, reputations, what have you. At best, the business and finance graduates join companies wherin the top become rich and the bottom--well, you know the story. The irony is that immigrants from poor countries sign on for this ride and feel exultant when they are successful. Often, corporate America is responsible for undermining the economies of the impoverished countries.
This is the general backstory for "Changez"--a Pakistani immigrant-- in "The Reluctant Fundamentalist." Changez does change, and his evolution is the rest of the story.
The questions the book elicits are numerous: 1) what is terrorism 2) who is a threat 3) where is the line drawn between national identity and feelings for one's country's conduct, in other words, when does pride change to disgust?