Book Review of " THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST"

                                 " The Reluctant Fundamentalist" Review

                         The novel " The Reluctant Fundamentalist" consists of two narratives : the frame narrative which is the conversation between the Pakistani protagonist , Changez and an unnamed American at a café in Lahore and the flashback  narrative , told by Changez that describes his time in America both before and after the events of 9/11. The novel is told by way of a dramatic monologue from a first person point of view.

               The book opens in a street of Lahore, Pakistan. Changez , a Pakistani man , comes across an American visitor. The American is looking for a place to have a good cup of tea. Changez offers to direct him to that place. He leads that visitor to a café and orders their tea. While waiting for the tea , Changez begins to tell the American visitor a story about his life. He particularly describes the time period while he was living in the United States. While narrating his story , he intermittently tells about the Pakistani history and the places recently for the Exit West. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was his second novel which was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for fiction. 

                               Hamid through " The Reluctant Fundamentalist" tackles how the backlash of 9/11 has affected the lives of Muslim immigrants who have left the lives of Muslim immigrants who have left their home countries to work, get educated, integrate and embrace the American Dream. From a Muslim perspective, Hamid portrays the psychological emotional, moral ang physical impact of 9/11 on Muslims through his character Changez, a Muslim Pakistani immigrant.

                               The Reluctant Fundamentalist loos at the ways the text represent changing Western public perceptions towards Pakista and also eamines how Muslims are harshly treated after the backlash of 9/11 and how they become victims and legitimate targets of hate crimes, negative media stereotypes, physical beatings, disappearance, racial profiling, interrogations at American airports, and detentions in secret places. It addresses how such treatment sheds light on the question of Muslim integration in the American society, citizenship, multiculturalism, identity and alienation . it also disrupts the dominant American official discourse which links Islam with terror and portrays Muslims as potential terrorists and a threat to American and values of Western civilization.

                              The novel renders a stark warning message through its character Changez, that the harsh treatment of Muslims, American domineering policies and the blind war on terror will force many ordinary Muslims to relinquish the American Dream. like Changez and turn into radicals.