The reluctant fundamentalist

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hamid has moved a step further. Now he is composed and settled with his identity crisis(i feel its that space, the lull before the storm that is very calm and soothing to the mind). Wonder what his next book wil reveal-the storm?



He's found a place and a role in the scheme of Pakistan's evolution and is ready to report. He's involved and not yet involved-the reluctant fundamentalist is exactly that- a person guided by the moods and situations of time rather than a person's personal vision and intervention.



His character is caught in the trauma of post 9/11 then released to test the murky waters of a society at the onset of a civil revolution. In this story he works on the east west relationshsip and unearths the reasons for the urban man's fundamentalism in the indian sub-continent and displays the delicate and extremely thin layer of trust that exists all around.






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the bok thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
How many of us may have thought of Death as a story teller?? So when Death begins a narrative, its difficult to not pay attention, or to miss observing the curve of a child's bent neck hanging low and breathing softly into a stolen copy of "The Gravedigger's handbook" To know more about what made Death stop and watch, read the book!!! For those of you who have layed your hands on every story from the Nazi period, here's one that will come as a complete surprise.


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Moth Smoke

Moth Smoke: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mohsin Hamid writes with credibility and a certain conviction that tears characters off the fabric of pakistan's social tapestry and paints instead a vivid etching in grey scales. The narrative forebodes the breakdown of the society's very weak fundamental values as would be the case in any upwardly mobile urban story.



Hamid is a subtle craftsman at work.His characters reveal the story of Daru the social outcast. Most significantly Mumtaz holds up the mirror to bring the two paralles in her life ozi and Daru who seemingly meet at a point and then move away displaying the stark contrast and the deep chasm that separtes them as a person and as a part of the society's frameowrk.



Moth Smoke balances itself on a thin and delicate question that the subcontinent is facing right now. What is the identity of the urban youth-both men and women: What are their choices and where are they heading?



Has it reached a tipping point? change will it be an evoltonary one or a dramatic fallout leading to a very tragic destiny for the sub-continent?






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