I loved reading Mohsin Hamid

Well well well The Kite Runner had tried a lot to impede me reading further. But thanks to Mohsin Hamid I am back in books. I have gotten two very nice books of him and I repented why didn’t I read them earlier.

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

A bearded Pakistani man, Changez, converses with an uneasy American stranger at a café table in Lahore. Changez tells his life long story to the stranger. Changez was an immigrant of America. After passing out from Princeton, he is evaluated by an elite valuation firm Underwood Samson. He stars his career successfully and gains reputable position in the firm. His infatuated with the elegant Eric proves an entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.

Then the 9/11 incident happen which brings a complete changes in Changez’s thinking. He feels himself misfit in the American society. He feels terrible at a little anxiety of his family back in Pakistan. He feels like he is disloyal to his country and to his family for not being returned. His anxiety eclipsed his budding relationship with Eric. ‘Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love’. In the wake of all this, he returns Pakistan but cannot get rid of his American immigrant dream.

MOTH SMOKE

Three words for this excellent novel; stunning, absorbing and trenchant.

It’s a story of Darashikoh Shezad who is banker. Dara loses his job and brings to starvation at one point. He beautifully depicts the divided life of poor and rich in Pakistani society. He falls in love with his childhood friend’s wife, Mumtaz. He becomes addicted of heroine and starts his career in crime. We are told in the beginning that he murders a little boy. But did he really kill the boy? It is the whole mystery till the end. As I am the curiosity spoiler, so I tell you that Mumtaz does not patch with his husband Ozi neither with Daru. She leaves every thing even her only child behind and moves to an unknown destiny.

I read it breathless. I have no word to describe the charisma it has created to the end. He is brilliant in creating suspense. He has related the novel to the real story of Mughal family where Dara Shikoh was hanged by his brother Aurangzeb in the wake of royal throne. I love the narrative style of Mohsin Hamid.