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Title: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Author: Mohsin Hamid

Narrator: Satya Bhabha

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-09-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 544 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Changez is living an immigrant's dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by Underwood Samson, an elite firm that specializes in the valuation of companies ripe for acquisition. He thrives on the energy of New York. But in the wake of September 11, he finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned. And Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and perhaps even love.

Critic Reviews:

"Bhabha's English-influenced Pakistani accent proves soothing and inviting for listeners." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Not about Fundamentalism in its usual sense.

Skillfully written and a fascinating read. The point of view is first person narrative as told by the main character Changez, a Pakistani. Changez has spent 4+ years living in the U.S, attending Princeton University then finally getting a job in N.Y. at a management consulting firm (the letters of whose name also are U.S.) He chances upon an American on the street and invites him to sit down in an outdoor cafe to have some tea. There he spends several hours talking to the American while the two of them share tea and then a meal in an outdoor market place in Lahore. We never find out the American's name or occupation nor why he is there in Pakistan. He is dressed rather formally and seems to have a bulge under his suit jacket (a gun?)

We also do not hear any of the words spoken by the American man but his reactions, questions and answers are revealed by the narrator.

(Paraphrased)

Changez: "I went to university in New Jersey."

(pause)

Changez: "Why yes you have guessed that it was Princeton"

(pause)

Changez: "Oh yes, I liked it very much."

It is a very unique method of telling a written story.

From the conversation we see that Changez, at first, loves his new life in the U.S. feeling fortunate to be a part of such a modern and progressive and forward thinking world. A world where nearly anyone can be successful. He even has the fortune of falling in love with a beautiful American woman. He seems happy. His job takes him around the world, where he is proud to be mistaken as an American.

Then while away on a trip in Manila he is watching the TV as a plane flies into the Twin Towers on 9/11. Returning to N.Y. he begins to notice that Americans, who have previously admired and befriended him, begin to act suspicious of him. He notes that the citizens of New York begin to rally around their flag. He feels like an outsider.