The author is Mohsin Hamid, an American Pakistani (a Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate) whose first novel, Moth Smoke won a number of awards and was published in 10 languages. Impressive background. I first saw this book on a bookstore's shelve and was attracted to the intriguing cover. A man in white kurta under a beautifully carved (Moghul?) arch looking over a river to a city that looks like New York. He appears comfortable in his Asian element but he is looking longingly at the city of skyscrapers.
The whole book is the voice of Changez, talking to an uneasy American in a cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. It is like Changez talking to you, the reader. You are the American, sitting in front of him, listening to his stories.
Changez is a Pakistani with perfect American accent, went to Princeton University, graduated with flying colours and was accepted to work as analyst in a prestigious valuation company. Then he fell in love with Erica, a beautiful New York elite. But deep inside him he has this feeling of homesickness that later turned into anti-American thoughts. He gradually felt that he is equivalent to a Janissary (an infantry unit in the Ottoman Empire comprised of captured Christian male children), trained and given benefits to help destroy the Ottoman's enemy (which was their own homeland).
But the beauty of this novel is that without any action (guns/bombs/kickboxing etc) it still gives you gripping suspense. Why is Changez telling you the story of his life? And what makes you stay in the cafe to hear his story until the sun settles and the night darkens? Why the successful American Changez abandon his high paying New York job and return to Pakistan?
Changez's voice is probably the voices of millions of Muslims living in America post 9/11. Why reluctant? Maybe because Changez loves and hates America at the same time.
Fully recommended by me.
p/s don't read the reviews in Amazon before you read the book because the reviews are quite revealing.
The whole book is the voice of Changez, talking to an uneasy American in a cafe in Lahore, Pakistan. It is like Changez talking to you, the reader. You are the American, sitting in front of him, listening to his stories.
Changez is a Pakistani with perfect American accent, went to Princeton University, graduated with flying colours and was accepted to work as analyst in a prestigious valuation company. Then he fell in love with Erica, a beautiful New York elite. But deep inside him he has this feeling of homesickness that later turned into anti-American thoughts. He gradually felt that he is equivalent to a Janissary (an infantry unit in the Ottoman Empire comprised of captured Christian male children), trained and given benefits to help destroy the Ottoman's enemy (which was their own homeland).
But the beauty of this novel is that without any action (guns/bombs/kickboxing etc) it still gives you gripping suspense. Why is Changez telling you the story of his life? And what makes you stay in the cafe to hear his story until the sun settles and the night darkens? Why the successful American Changez abandon his high paying New York job and return to Pakistan?
Changez's voice is probably the voices of millions of Muslims living in America post 9/11. Why reluctant? Maybe because Changez loves and hates America at the same time.
Fully recommended by me.
p/s don't read the reviews in Amazon before you read the book because the reviews are quite revealing.
6 comments:
nak baca!
is this yours or borrowed from the library?
i like the book, esp the first-person narrative style. (gave it 4/5)
i think it helps to explain that some (more?) extremists are borne out of loyalty to his/her nation rather than religion. afterall, character changez ni tak identify sgt dgn identity dia as muslim, kan?
ending dia mcm open to our own interpretation sikit kan?
mummy- library lah, tapi nanti kalau jumpa carboot akan beli sebab worth keeping.
mynie- aku pun ter-hooked dgn style dia, and cara Changez tu converse memang cara Asian bercakap, berlapik dan bersopan, aku baca interview dgn author ni dia cakap he wrote the book 7 times, the first draft was not Changez speaking and was written before sept 11, and the reason the book is not so thick is that you cannot have a conversation so long (betul jugak)
yes i was sad changez is not a proper practicing muslim, maybe the author wants to convey that the extreme fundamentalists are actually not Islamic teaching?
wo wo wo. this fiction sounds heavy!
mak ai korang! jelesnya aku korang dpt baca byk buku bes2!!! selain tight budget, bilik dah x muat nk tmbah buku!! =D
tight budget n no space? alaa kau kan boleh jual buku mcm mynie buat :D (bawah katil pun boleh sumbat)
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