Comments (35)

Community comments are the opinions of contributing users. These comments do not represent the opinions of Skokie Public Library.
What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 35 items
Mar 05, 2023LPL_SarahM rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I read this one to fulfill the Booksquad Reading Challenge-- "Read a book written by an author from the Middle East." I'm really glad I did. In this book we follow the story of a Pakastani man who remembers his time living in NYC during…
Jan 14, 2023JCLBeckyC rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is stylistically one of the most interesting novels I've ever read. Part political thriller, part tragic love story, part psychological drama, fast-paced, thought-provoking, and with nuanced, realistic characters. I can imagine this…
Jul 11, 2022davehasabeard rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I finished it so that is a plus. In general, I feel like I wasted my time reading this book.
Sep 20, 2021followkim rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Very readable, well written narrative that will pull you in, unfortunately the pool that you get pulled into is pretty shallow. There are two interesting stories here-- a story about a man who loves a woman who is badly struggling with…
Nov 15, 2020rclane rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
An extremely readable novel. Sometimes the symbolism seemed simplistic and heavy-handed. Enjoyable nonetheless because of the charismatic main character.
Nov 12, 2020rlbeekman rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Mohsin Hamid is an amazingly ambitious and skillful writer, both for his subject matter and the structural and stylistic challenges he sets for himself. The Reluctant Fundamentalist uses a frame story for a first person dramatic monologue…
Jan 26, 2020MEILEEANDERSON rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I read this book to fulfill the category "books that happen in a day" for the Tacoma Public Library Extreme Reading Challenge. This is the second book I've read by Mohsin Hamid and it did not disappoint. I thought the author deftly told…
Nov 10, 2019richibi rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
a political thriller in search of a love story, or the reverse - both fall flat
Oct 08, 2019SusyHendrix rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this even more than MOTH SMOKE. The characters and story just drew me in. And the way the frame narrative was incorporated into the themes of the story was just brilliant.
Sep 12, 2019elfiereads rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Love how Mohsin Hamid creates his stories. They hold you captive right from the start.
Jul 04, 2019gale37 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Written in an elegant style, this is also an intriguing read. I didn't want it to end. The ending incidentally, is both predictable and a mystery. This is great fiction as well as a window for the reader to view and perhaps understand…
Apr 19, 2019tomismyname rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
It's a story about an egoist who has trouble accepting his own faults and blames his problems on everyone else. A mindless read with no climax - a real letdown. The author can write a sentence, but the story could use some work. Shallow…
Jan 11, 2019diannehildebrand rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A great fast read with a fabulous plot, although the two main characters never leave the Lahore restaurant table where they're conversing, except for the last few pages where they walk towards a hotel. The narrator, very, very finely…
May 25, 2018
Read this short novel to gain a different perspective of 911.
Aug 30, 2017LPL_MeredithW rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
If there's such a thing as an edge-of-your-seat elegy, that's what this book is. Beautifully written, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" would make a good read-a-like for "The Remains of the Day."
Mar 18, 2017dirtbag rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Americans should read this book with the hope that they would begin to understand why most of the world distrusts them. This is a trim, well-written, and marvelous book.
Feb 14, 2017melaniebrownster rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved it. Very thought provoking.
Feb 01, 2015WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Changez, a young Pakistani, happens upon an American in Lahore, invites him to tea and tells him the story of his life in the months before and after the 9/11 attacks. That monologue is the substance of this elegant and chilling little…
Dec 06, 2014Lucky_Luke rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It shows the mechanism of radicalization, when you belong to the wrong, race, ethnic group or religion; from pain of not fitting in to anger at those who refuse to see more to people than the racial profile; smart, provocative and offers…
May 31, 2014gemini07 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing. The layers of hidden meanings of what the author means by "Fundamentalist", sets one to pondering.
Apr 11, 2014marydave rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Unlike anything I've ever read in my 60+ years of wide reading in 3 languages. I think I might finally have a glimpse inside the fundamentalist mind. Current reading of "Ruins of Empire" is a good follow-up.
Dec 30, 2013DanglingConversations rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Compelling read with cliff hanger ending. Highlights American culpability in its foreign policy and sublimated xenophobia.
Aug 22, 2013
Read this book and then you must see the extraordinary film directed by Mira Nair, also titled The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Both the book and the novel force us to think beyond the great American success story of family wealth or…
Dec 29, 2012bookwormjeph rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
thoroughly enjoyable and quite scary in aspects of just how a certain situation can have such a profound and devastating effect on a person. It is written in an unusual style to in the way it links the past narrative with the present day…
Jane60201
Dec 26, 2012Jane60201 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent commentary on how nationals of other countries feel about America without the overbearing feeling of political science tomes.