The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The narration is pretty unusual (the speaker is literally telling his story to a listener, who is also the reader), which threw me off at first and I wouldn't say I loved but it was interesting. The events that took place kept my attention for the most part, and the ending was especially curious.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I'd say this one was okay.

I adored Mohsin Hamid's most recent novel, Exit West, and this one was just as wonderful. It traces the story of a young Pakistani immigrant, Changez, and the way his relationship to America changes after his attendance at Princeton and acceptance of a fancy analyst job in the wake of both 9/11 and a romance with Erica, a beautiful, troubled classmate. It's told as a dialogue and is just incredibly rendered.

This was a fast, very engaging read. What appealed to me most, I think, is the voice of the narrator, Changez, who is telling his life story to an American visiting Lahore. The story itself is also compelling, about a Pakistani who was working in the US at the time of the 9/11 attacks. I highly recommend this one.