The Reluctant Fundamentalist
First edition (UK)
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| Author | Mohsin Hamid |
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| Publisher |
Hamish Hamilton (United Kingdom) Harcourt (United States) Oxford University Press (Pakistan) |
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Publication date
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1 March 2007 |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | |
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.
The novel uses the technique of a frame story, which takes place during the course of a single evening in an outdoor Lahore cafe, where a bearded Pakistani man called Changez tells a nervous American stranger about his love affair with an American woman, and his eventual abandonment of America. A short story adapted from the novel, called "Focus on the Fundamentals," appeared in the fall 2006 issue of The Paris Review. A film adaptation of the novel by director Mira Nair premiered at the 2012 Venice Film Festival.
The story begins on the streets of Lahore. A Pakistani man offers to direct an American visitor where he can find a good cup of tea. As they wait for their tea, the young man, Changez, begins to weave a long story about his life, especially his time living in the United States. The unnamed American is restless but remains to listen.
Changez tells the American he was an excellent student who completed his bachelor's degree in Finance from Princeton University and joined Underwood Samson, a consultancy firm, as an analyst. He vacationed in Greece, after graduating from Princeton with fellow Princetonians, where he met Erica, an aspiring writer. He was instantly smitten by her, but his feelings remained almost unrequited because she was still grieving over the death of her childhood sweetheart Chris, who succumbed to lung cancer. After a date, they return to his place and he proceeds to have sex with her, but stops because her emotional attachment to Chris prevents her from becoming aroused. After this incident there is an interlude where neither contact each other. But soon they go on another date, after which they have sex when Changez convinces Erica to close her eyes and fantasize that she is with Chris. Though Changez is satisfied at this development in their relationship, this irreversibly damages their relationship. Soon she begins treatment in a mental institution. He notices she is physically emaciated and no longer her former self. After this meeting he travels to Chile on an assignment. When he returns to meet her, it is found that she has left the institution and her clothes were found near the Hudson River. Officially she is stated as a missing person, as her body has not been found.
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