Finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Well…yesterday I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist for my book club – I read the entire book in one day. It’s only 184 pages long (and did I mention that I’m a fast reader? Never took the Evelyn Wood speedreading class, but I’m quick nonetheless).

While it was interesting enough to keep my attention, I think I was hoping for some sort of different ending. I kept thinking that the book was going to wrap up into some sort of definite answer about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, but given the world we live in, it’s not that clear cut who is who anyway.

The book is about a Pakistani man named Changez who was educated in the US at Princeton and who takes a prestigious job in New York City after he graduates. He is working for the New York firm when 9/11 happens and he notices the changes toward him from the people around him. He also begins to worry about his homeland, and expresses anger at the US for not providing protection for Pakistan.

The entire book is written in a weird sort of dialogue – Changez is talking to an American in a cafe in Pakistan. The American never speaks and the dialogue is told as though Changez is telling his story to the American. Kind of a weird way to tell the story. It had to be short – the format grows tiring after a while.

There’s also a side story about Changez and a lovely American woman named Erica. Erica is already on a downward mental spiral after the death of her boyfriend and 9/11 only intensifies her confusion. This story could probably be left out entirely without changing the book too much.

I felt like I never really got to know Changez or Erica – perhaps because the book was so short. Or maybe it was the way the story was told…while I’m glad I read the book, but I don’t know if I would recommend it for others to read.