The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Mohsin Hamid

I cannot recall at what point of the story I began to feel uneasy or why, but slowly I found myself drawn out of my comfort zone. Changez, born into a traditional Pakistani family, wins the chance to study and then work in America where his feelings towards two cultures develop and change. Did I share some common ground with Changez? A very uncomfortable question to answer but one that every reader of this book will have to ask themselves.

Extract

I spent that night considering what I had become. There really could be no doubt: I was a modern day janissary, a servant of the American empire at a time when it was invading a country with kinship to mine and was perhaps even colluding to ensure that my own country faced the threat of war. Of course I was struggling! Of course I felt torn!

Parallels