Tag Archive for 'mohsin hamid'

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is about the collapse of the world of Changez, a Pakistani Princeton graduate in the backdrop of 9/11. Changez has everything: a prestigious job, a Princeton degree and the prospect of a relationship with a hauntingly beautiful Erica.

But then Changez’s picture perfect life comes apart. Piece by Piece. However, it comes apart due to conscious choices made by Changez and not the evilness of the system (his company, his CEO Jim, Erica and her mother are supportive post-9/11 for the most part). Changez’s descent into chaos is scary. It almost happens in slow motion: he knows things are going really wrong; but he doesn’t fix himself because his decisions make sense at that point in time. Pretty soon, he’s so far away from “normal” that he can’t go back to his day job as a financial valuator.

The story is structured as a monologue between Changez and a nameless American at a restaurant in Lahore. Changez reminisces about how he goes from being part of “America” to someone outside it, embittered at its hypocrisy and unfairness. How much this hypocrisy and unfairness of America is really relevant to Changez’s own life and how much is it a convenient (self)-explanation for his self destruction is a very interesting aspect of the book. Changez must really ask himself if a conflict in distant Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan or the odd post-9/11 racist abuse was enough to imperil everything. He never does.

At the end of it, for me, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a warning about the often not too deep urge to let go of it all and self-destruct inherent in all of us. Its is also a warning about how seemingly small influences, over a period of time, can send you over the edge. Erica is a girl worth pursuing, worth falling in love with and worth pining for. But Erica is so troubled, that she passes that seed of trouble to Changez. Once the seed is planted, it can only grow, and it does until it envelopes him. Erica leaves his life in excruciating slow motion: repeatedly enticing him and then leaving him until he is totally damaged from within. And then it becomes so simple for him to get lost in minor slights to his religion, culture and civilization. A sense of injustice, embitterment and anger, are in retrospect, predictable traps for an emotionally raw Changez. Changez, given to planning his life with precision thus far, ends his connection with America very abruptly. The thought process and events that lead to this “breaking point” was the most interesting aspect of the book for me.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a compact but fertile book. There are other threads and interpretations but I’ve chosen what impacted me the most: the breakdown of the self. In the end, Changez seems to salvage his life by moving back to Pakistan as a lecturer. But does he really salvage it? Is he living fully in an imaginary world with his beloved Erica? Or are there other things he might be up to?

Sidharth’s Rating 4.0/5.0