The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Softcover

Hamid, Mohsin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241964172 ISBN 13: 9780241964170

Publisher: Penguin, 2013

Synopsis

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the award-winning international bestseller by Mohsin Hamid.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING KATE HUDSON AND KIEFER SUTHERLAND

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2007

'Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard. I am a lover of America . . . '

So speaks the mysterious stranger at a Lahore cafe as dusk settles. Invited to join him for tea, you learn his name and what led this speaker of immaculate English to seek you out. For her is more worldy than you might expect; better travelled and better educated. He knows the West better than you do. And as he tells you his story, of how he embraced the Western dream -- and a Western woman -- and how both betrayed him, so the night darkens. Then the true reason for your meeting becomes abundantly clear . . .

Praise for The Reluctant Fundamentalist:

'Beautifully written . . . more exciting than any thriller I've read for a long time' Philip Pullman

'Admirably spare and amazingly exciting' Rachel Cooke, New Statesman

'Sharp, relevant, impressively intelligent . . . entertains at the same time as it makes you think' Daily Telegraph

'A cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment . . . Intelligent and highly engaging, genuinely provocative' Guardian

'A brilliant book' Kiran Desai

'Prods the intellect, quickens the pace and captures the imagination' Sunday Times

Mohsin Hamid is the author of three novels: The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moth Smoke and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. His fiction has been translated into over 30 languages, received numerous awards, and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He has contributed essays and short stories to publications such as the Guardian, The New York Times, Financial Times, Granta, and Paris Review. Born and mostly raised in Lahore, he spent part of his childhood in California, studied at Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and has since lived between Lahore, London, and New York.

About this title

Review:

Gripping... remains taut until the final pages...an elegant and sharp indictment of the clouds of suspicion that now shroud our world (Observer)

A quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the treacherous faultlines of current east/west relations, and finely tuned to the ironies of mutual - but especially American - prejudice and misrepresentation...increasingly tense...genuinely provocative...intelligent, highly engaging (Guardian)

Elegant, provocative . . . beautifully measured prose . . . a delicate meditation on the nature of perception and prejudice (Daily Mail)

Masterful . . . A multi-layered and thoroughly gripping book, which works as a poignant love story, a powerful dissection of how US imperialist machinations have turned so many people against the world's superpower - and as a thriller that subtly ratchets up the nerve-jangling tension towards an explosive ending (Metro)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is an important book (Evening Standard)

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

Beautifully written (Philip Pullman)

A profoundly contemporary story about civil wars, unstable countries and refugees pouring to the cities of the West... beautifully written, with the ghost of Camus hovering at the edge of the frame (New Statesman)

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
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0241964172
• ISBN 13: 9780241964170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224