The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, Penguin Books, 2007 I bought this book in Dublin Airport some days back as a light read, and that it is, too. An average reader would read this novella in two to three hours. The cover proclaims this book to be “an international bestseller,” and no doubt it is. It was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007. However, I’d give it 6 out of 10 for entertainment value and the same points for its depiction of the contrast between the world of American high finance and that of the simpler Eastern Islamic nations. To give my evaluation some context, I’d give The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini 9, even 10, out of 10. For me, that book was pure magic and as near to perfection as any novel I have ever read could possibly reach. Be that as it may, this is a good entertaining read. Our author, Hamid grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, where this novella is set. As a gifted...