Hamid's second book (after Moth
\t\t Smoke) is an intelligent and absorbing 9/11 novel, written from the
\t\t perspective of Changez, a young Pakistani whose sympathies, despite his fervid
\t\t immigrant embrace of America, lie with the attackers. The book unfolds as a
\t\t monologue that Changez delivers to a mysterious American operative over dinner
\t\t at a Lahore, Pakistan, cafe. Pre-9/11, Princeton graduate Changez is on top of
\t\t the world: recruited by an elite New York financial company, the 22-year-old
\t\t quickly earns accolades from his hard-charging supervisor, plunges into
\t\t Manhattan's hip social whirl and becomes infatuated with Erica, a fellow
\t\t Princeton graduate pining for her dead boyfriend. But after the towers fall,
\t\t Changez is subject to intensified scrutiny and physical threats, and his
\t\t co-workers become markedly less affable as his beard grows in ("a form of
\t\t protest," he says). Erica is committed to a mental institution, and Changez,
\t\t upset by his adopted country's "growing and self-righteous rage," slacks off at
\t\t work and is fired. Despite his off-putting commentary, the damaged Changez
\t\t comes off as honest and thoughtful, and his creator handles him with a
\t\t sympathetic grace. (Apr.)
Details
Reviewed on: 12/11/2006
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 184 pages - 978-0-241-14365-0
Hardcover - 184 pages - 978-0-385-66344-1
Hardcover - 159 pages - 978-1-60285-046-0
Open Ebook - 208 pages - 978-0-15-603312-1
Open Ebook - 1 pages - 978-0-7927-4840-3
Other - 224 pages - 978-0-14-192364-2
Other - 978-0-307-37335-9
Paperback - 208 pages - 978-0-15-603402-9
Paperback - 208 pages - 978-0-544-13945-9
Paperback - 190 pages - 978-84-8383-056-7
Paperback - 209 pages - 978-0-14-102954-2
Paperback - 208 pages - 978-0-385-66345-8
Paperback - 224 pages - 978-0-241-98138-2
