AAAAH…, At last, I am here…..! Finally, I could take out sometime….at 11:50 pm…I chose the book, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” to the blog in the last few days. It reached into the hands of its owner, Akhil, who might be enjoying reading it. I finished reading it a week back… somehow, couldn’t blog since then… ! After a hectic day, I am trying my day to not to end… with sleepy eyes..!
Liked the narration of Moshin Hamid, the author of the book… the story is not so exciting… but, the way his narration goes on, the language, which is mostly in the first person (using You & I) leaves a personal touch. But, the style that he adopts in the introduction and conclusion parts of each chapter, where he converses with an American stranger, I found it a little disturbing.
I just try to brief the story..!
Changez, a Pakistani young man of eighteen years goes to USA for his higher studies in the prestigious Princeton College, and subsequently gets into one of the famous consulting companies, the Underwood Samson in USA (which has “focus on fundamentals” as its objective). He falls in love with Erica, who could never come out of a realm of memories of her child-hood friend, and lover, Chris, who dies at a young age suffering from cancer. Changez tries and finally fails to pacify her melancholy, and, one day she vanishes. On the other side, an emotional commotion stifles him, related to America’s dominance, its role, and the strategy it adopts during the battle between India and Pakistan. The Protagonist, who once was very good at pursuing fundamentals of his job, turns into reluctant fundamentalist and leaves his job and the country, which gave him unforgettable experiences of life, unable to cope up with his emotional turmoil. He returns to his homeland and becomes a fundamentalist who instigates many young men to protest against American stratagem, which are largely intended to reinforce its supremacy.
Hmmmnn… I tried my level best to exercise my memory!
I adore many expressions used in the book! He expresses many emotions and feelings quite simply, subtly, which most of us would have left unsaid in our lives. I am sure some of these expressions would stir up those buried feelings with in for lot of us, those who would read this book.
Here I go…quoting a few!
Today – 24-01-08
I wanted to post this yesterday on the blog, but as it was getting late, I couldn’t finish it. BTW, Akhil finished reading the book and also blogged about it. Hhmnn.. Better late than never!
Consider these statements:
“It hurts when you care about someone and they go away.”
“These unworthy sentiments helped me to keep my distance.”
“Things might have worked out rather differently if I had turned around.”
“I resolved to write this to her in an email, as a sort of apology, perhaps, and as an invitation to resume the contact between us.”
“I brought something of her with me here-or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I lost something of myself to her that I was unable to relocate in the city of my birth”
“What is natural in one place can seem unnatural in another; and some concepts travel rather poorly.”
“Time only moves in one direction. Remember that things always change.”
“Certainly I wanted to believe, at least I wanted not to disbelieve.”
“I felt as though a world has ended.”
Good expressions! Aren’t they?
All in all, a good experience indeed, reading it!
