The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a metafictional narrative by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007. The book is a one-sided conversation between the protagonist and an unnamed American tourist in Pakistan. Changez meets this American tourist on the streets of Old Anarkali in Lahore Pakistan. He offers him a tea and dives into telling stories from when he was in New York as a student.

Changez was born in Lahore and was one of the only two Pakistanis in his class when he went to Princeton. He graduated from Princeton and started working for a prestigious valuation firm. Detailing the aspects of his new life in America, Changez takes us into his journey of competing in the workspace, falling in love with an American girl, and adjusting to being among his wealthy companions. He believes he has come to live the American dream, until the 9/11 tragedy strikes the nation and his life changes.

He hears news about how Pakistanis are being targeted in the aftermath of the event. At first, Changez tends to avoid such news as he is among the prestigious crowd of the American society and believes he will never be on the receiving end of this abuse. However, these events are eating him up from the inside. Soon, he starts questioning his identity, wealth, power, and even his relationship.

How did it make me feel?

For me, this was something unique. I’ve never read a book written with such an interesting approach before, so as soon as I started it, I immediately loved it. Being an Asian immigrant myself, I could relate to many things that Changez felt while in America. I loved the presentation of the reactions of the unidentified American in this conversation. His discomfort around Changez and other Pakistani men in the vicinity, his reluctance to share, his suspicions towards men approaching women in the area are all so beautifully expressed in the writing. For every one of these instances, I loved Changez’s response, filled with not only facts but also sarcasm. I loved Hamid’s philosophical take on life.

If you’re looking for something unique in psychological fiction, I recommend The Reluctant Fundamentalist. This may not be the book for everyone, but it’s something that’ll expand one’s perspective of humankind.

You can use my link to buy it from Amazon. If you use my link to buy, I may get a small commission at NO additional cost to you! It will help me keep my blog running! 🙂 Thank you for your support!