The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

At a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man talks with an uneasy American stranger. As the sun moves across the sky and shadows become darker, he begins the tale that brought them to this ominous meeting. This is a first- person novel where the narrator, Changez, establishes an enticing and gripping hold on the reader as he reveals his life story to this American.

We learn that Changez is a highly educated Pakistani who was top of his class at Princeton in America. He worked as a financial analyst for the prestigious firm of Underwood Samson in New York. But after a disastrous love affair and in the wake of September 11 Changez finds his position in his adopted country is not viable and he returns disenchanted to Pakistan..

Opinions by the Page Turners were unanimous.

 An eerie quite powerful story.

 There is a menace there and something is about to happen, and soon..

 It was an exciting novel written well and containing good language.

 There is tension as the novel unfolds and keeps the reader guessing and gives the novel depth and power.

 It was a seriously good book.

 The author has captured a particular reality.

 A great read.

 

It was good to have a book at last that everybody in the group felt was a good read, and one that we would recommend. The score was a 9.