1
of
1
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Series: Penguin Essentials
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 83,124 ratings, 8,219 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
$2600
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
$2400
$2600
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is a provocative, elegant, and gripping novel, available as a Penguin Essential for the first time.
'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 cafΓ© 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. He is more worldly 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 β and a Western woman β and how both betrayed him, so the night darkens. Then the true reason for your meeting becomes abundantly clear...
Series: Penguin Essentials
View all-
1984
1984 by George Orwell is a gripping tale set in a dystopian future where the world is embroiled in perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public manipulation. The story unfolds in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, a province of the superstate Oceania. Here, the Party, led by the enigmatic and omniscient Big Brother, exerts absolute power over...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Animal Farm
A landmark in modern literature, Animal Farm by George Orwell is a timeless fable about the dangers of power and corruption. The story begins with Mr Jones, the negligent and frequently intoxicated owner of Manor Farm, who fails to care for his animals. Incited by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, the animals revolt, oust Mr Jones, and seize control of...Paperback$2599Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Man in the High Castle
New Penguin Essentials edition of Philip K. Dick's haunting vision of the world as it might have been. 'Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find.' America, fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The winning Axis powers have divided their spoils - the Nazis control New York, while California is ruled by the...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Submarine
A funny, fresh coming-of-age story, now a Penguin Essential. Meet Oliver Tate, 15. Convinced that his father is depressed ("Depression comes in bouts. Like boxing. Dad is in the blue corner") and his mother is having an affair with her capoeira teacher, "a hippy-looking twonk", he embarks on a hilariously misguided campaign to bring the family back together. Meanwhile, he...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Hell's Angels
We're the one percenters, man - the one percent that don't fit in and don't care. 'A phalanx of motorcycles came roaring over the hill from the west... the noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Even knowing the Angels I couldn't quite handle what I was seeing. It was like Genghis Khan, Morgan's Raiders,...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Pursuit of Love
The Pursuit of Love, Mitford's beloved novel, is published as a Penguin Essential for the first time. 'Obsessed with sex!' said Jassy, 'there's nobody so obsessed as you, Linda. Why if I so much as look at a picture you say I'm a pygmalionist.' In the end, we got far more information out of a book called Ducks and Duck...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Libra
Libra by Don DeLillo, now available as a Penguin Essential, delves deep into the heart of America's most gripping historical momentβthe assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Set against the backdrop of Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 PM, the narrative captures the instant the nation was plunged into turmoil and psychosis. Shots ring...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Bastard of Istanbul
A breath-taking novel about a violent secret that threatens the peace of two interwoven families β now a Penguin Essential. One rainy afternoon in Istanbul a woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 'I want an abortion', she announces. She is nineteen years old, and unmarried. What happens that afternoon is to change her life, and the lives of everyone around...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Chrysalids
The Chrysalids, John Wyndham's classic science fiction novel, is published as an Essential for the first time. David Strorm's father disapproves of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, his niece Rosalind, and their friends harbour their own secret aberration that would label them as mutants. As David and...Paperback$2400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Room with a View
A delightfully satiric comedy of manners and an immensely satisfying love story. 'You love the boy body and soul, plainly, directly, as he loves you . . .' Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened...Paperback$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
In Cold Blood
New edition of the Penguin Essential of the book that made Truman Capote's name. 'Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, "a natural killer" - absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows.' On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, a wealthy farmer, his wife and their two...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Periodic Table
The Periodic Table by Primo Levi is a profound exploration of the author's life, uniquely framed through the lens of the chemical elements. Drawing on his background as a professional chemist, Levi reflects on his experiences, each chapter ingeniously linked to a specific element of the periodic table. Through this inventive structure, he intimately connects his personal history to the...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is praised for its gripping, taut narrative that lends tension until the final pages. The novel offers an elegant and sharp critique of contemporary suspicions between the East and West, portrayed with finely tuned irony and intelligent prose. It is described as a masterful work blending a poignant love story with a critique of U.S. imperialism, leading to an explosively tense conclusion. The novel is also noted for its beautifully measured prose and its contemporary relevance, drawing comparisons to the works of Camus.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241981382
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 June 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 14.0mm
Width: 111.0mm
Height: 181.0mm
Weight: 127g
Pages: 224
About the Author
Mohsin Hamid writes regularly for The New York Times, the Guardian and the New York Review of Books, and is the author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moth Smoke, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Discontent and its Civilisations. Born and mostly raised in Lahore, he has since lived between Lahore, London and New York. His next novel, Exit West, will be published by Hamish Hamilton in spring 2017.
Also by Mohsin Hamid
View all-
The Last White Man
From the twice Booker-shortlisted author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West, a story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change. One morning, Anders wakes to find that his skin has turned dark, his reflection a stranger to him. At first, he tells only Oona, an old friend, now newly a lover. Soon, reports of similar...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Exit West
An extraordinary story of love and hope from the bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. This is Nadia. She is fiercely independent with an excellent sense of humour and a love of smoking alone on her balcony late at night. This is Saeed. He is sweet and shy and kind to strangers. He also has a balcony but...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid September -
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007 At a cafe 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...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Moth Smoke
The acclaimed debut novel from the author of Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalistβnow reissued in a fresh new paperback look across the Hamid backlist. In Lahore, Daru Shezad is a junior banker with a hashish habit. When his old friend Ozi moves back to Pakistan, Daru wants to be happy for him. Ozi has everythingβa beautiful wife and child,...Paperback$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Mistake
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseYesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseOn Mystic Lake
One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...Paperback$3100Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Legacy
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from the Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Legacy now for the much-anticipated answer to the question: Where are they now? Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation . . . A wedding....Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseLand
Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theΒ new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, TomΓ‘s and his reluctant son,Β Liam, are working for the great...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Signed BookplateNew ReleaseLight Wielder
THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* βThe BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindleβ βββββ βThe author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!β βββββ...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whΔnau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
