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The Reluctant Fundamentalist

By Mohsin Hamid
Series: Penguin Essentials
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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
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid delves into the life of Changez, a brilliant Pakistani man who finds success on Wall Street but becomes conflicted with his identity in post-9/11 America. Through a tense conversation in a Lahore café, he reflects on his experiences, the impact of global events on his sense of belonging, and the cultural tensions he faces, intertwining themes of ambition, love, and disenchantment.
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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?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by complex narratives exploring identity, cultural tensions, and the personal impact of global events. Its engaging monologue invites you into a suspenseful and thought-provoking journey, blending personal reflection with broader societal issues. Those interested in themes of alienation and belonging will find this narrative particularly compelling.

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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 café 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 — and a Western woman — and how both betrayed him, so the night darkens. Then the true reason for your meeting becomes abundantly clear...

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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.

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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

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Mohsin Hamid Penguin Books Series: Penguin Essentials

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.

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  • 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...
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  • 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...
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  • 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...
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  • Moth Smoke
    Moth Smoke
    The acclaimed debut novel from the author of Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist—now 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 everything—a beautiful wife and child,...
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