The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Softcover

Hamid, Mohsin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156034271 ISBN 13: 9780156034272

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 2013

Synopsis

At a café table in Lahore, a Pakistani man converses with a stranger. As dusk deepens to dark, he begins the tale that has brought him to this fateful meeting...Among the brightest and best of his graduating class at Princeton, Changez is snapped up by an elite firm and thrives on New York and the intensity of his work. And his infatuation with fragile Erica promises entree into Manhattan society on the exalted footing his own family once held back in Lahore. For a time, it seems as though nothing will stand in the way of Changez's meteoric rise to personal and professional success: the fulfilment of the immigrant's dream. But in the wake of September 11, he finds his position in the city he loves suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and perhaps even love. About the Author Mohsin Hamid grew up in Lahore, attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School and worked for several years as a management consultant in New York. His first novel, Moth Smoke, was published in ten languages, won a Betty Trask award, was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Mohsin Hamid currently lives, works and writes in London. REVIEWS: Marta Simonetti-Whitford, Guardian Books of the Year "If a book had to be praised for its merits in defining the anxieties of our post-9/11 society, then Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist would be the one to win" Philip Pullman "I read Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist with increasing admiration. It is beautifully written - what a joy it is to find such intelligent prose, such clarity of thought and exposition - and superbly constructed. The author has managed to tighten the screw of suspense almost without our being aware it is happening, and the result is a tale of enormous tension. ..."

About this title

Review:

"A fantastic piece of work, superbly considered and controlled, with a lovely stillness and wisdom at its heart"
-- The Times

"An elegant, artful, haunting novella - a deceptively simple narrative that is in fact deeply ambiguous" -- Jo Glanville, Observer Books of the Year

"From the start, I was gripped...There's an almost delightful allegorical symmetry to the flow of events, as well as a sensuousness and finish that might belong to some other form of art: music, perhaps...Hamid manages marvellously well in creating a novel that's rendered entirely in terms of the spoken word, and governed by the shape of what's evaded or not uttered" -- Amit Chaudhuri, London Review of Books

"I read Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist with increasing admiration. It is beautifully written - what a joy it is to find such intelligent prose, such clarity of thought and exposition - and superbly constructed. The author has managed to tighten the screw of suspense almost without our being aware it is happening, and the result is a tale of enormous tension. I read a lot of thrillers - or rather I start reading a lot of thrillers, and put most of them down - but this is more exciting than any thriller I've read for a long time, as well as being a subtle and elegant analysis of the state of our world today. I was enormously impressed" -- Philip Pullman

"If a book had to be praised for its merits in defining the anxieties of our post-9/11 society, then Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist would be the one to win" -- Marta Simonetti-Whitford, Guardian Books of the Year

From the Back Cover:

SHORT-LISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZEAt a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter Changez is living an immigrant s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite valuation firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned and his relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love. "The Reluctant Fundamentalist "is a riveting, brilliantly unsettling exploration of the shadowy, unexpected connections between the political and the personal. "Taut and accomplished."--" San Francisco Chronicle" "Slender, smart, and subversive."--"Entertainment Weekly" A "NEW YORK TIMES" NOTABLE BOOKMOHSIN HAMID grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and attended Princeton and Harvard. His first novel, "Moth Smoke, " was a Betty Trask Award winner, a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist, and a "New York Times "Notable Book of the Year. His writing has also appeared in "Time, "the "New York Times, " and other publications. He lives in London.Discussion guide inside and at www.HarcourtBooks.com.Visit www.ReluctantFundamentalist.com.STEP-BACK PAGE: "Elegant and chilling."--"The New York Times Book Review" [A] resounding success." "The Village Voice""" Brilliantly written. "The Seattle Times""" Hamid s style is delightfully distinct . . . [He] has done something extraordinary. "The Washington Post""""[A] lucid, unsettling novel."--"The New Yorker" "An unsettling novel for unsettling times."--"The San Diego Union-Tribune" "

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0156034271
• ISBN 13: 9780156034272
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192