In The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is very controversial. He does a wonderful job of capturing and interpreting American and Pakistani culture. He writes the book from the view of a Pakistani man, which is very intriguing because he grasps the reader’s attention from the first paragraph:

“EXCUSE ME, SIR, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something; more than looking, in fact you seemed to be on a mission, and since I am both a native of this city and a speaker of your language, I thought I might offer you my services.”

Mohsin jumps right into the story and gives the reader an idea of what is going on and the perspective of the Pakistani male named Changez. Changez is from Lahore, Pakistan who graduates from Princeton who battles cross culture issues being in America as a Pakistani male but also being in Pakistan coming from America. This paragraph paints a picture of Changez approaching an, what to be seen as, American who is sitting in a café and offers his “services.” This sets the reader up for later stories but also makes it where the “American” is the reader.

This view that Mohsin sets up is perfect and helpful for the reader to feel like they are actually sitting there talking to Changez. Changez shares his viewpoint on Pakistani culture as well as American culture. This 1^st person point-of-view helps the reader get into the book and feel like they are actually there. Changez sets the stage for the reader and all the reader has to do is follow along. The reader has to accept the views of Changez but also can create their own views as the stories unfold.

There are many controversial parts in the book but that is what makes it a wonderful read because even though you might not agree with it arguments that you can find yourself mad at the book and what to put it down but you continue to read because you want to know what is next. Mohsin does a wonderful job of keeping the reader entertained by the controversial statements and the way he “Changez” tells the story as if you were actually there listening to him. Even though there are controversial statements Mohsin creates an atmosphere where the reader can either accept them or not and have their own opinion to the situation.

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