#42 The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid

 



Booker Prize:  Shortlisted 2007

Plot Time and Place: USA, Pakistan, around 2001

Opening sentence: "Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you."

Plot summary: A Pakistani immigrant who since 9/11 has become alienated with the USA tells his story to an American stranger. (from thebookerprizes.com)

Review: It was interesting to get to know the point of view of an immigrant in America. I also really enjoyed the writing: the unreliable narrator, the leaving some aspects open to the reader's interpretation or imagination, the stream of consciousness writing. Also it is a critique of American prejudices, sense of superiority, and out of control capitalism.

Rating: 4/5













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