The story delivered in brief tells of this young Changez, from a well-to-do family in Pakistan, proceeding to America, to study there and become a part of the American dream. The form adopted by the author is to enhance the Muslim moderate perspective, probably because the American stance is well known. The name appears to be deliberate, giving the theme of the book. The book is written in a monologue form deftly from the perspective of a young Pakistani man with the name of Changez. Maybe in this lies the title of the book “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”. This disenchantment with America gives rise to sympathy for the Muslim fundamentalists.īy bringing in the issue of the beard in these beginning lines itself, the author attempts to tell the Americans that not all Muslims are fundamentalists, but the narrow perceptions of the Americans, are pushing many of the moderate Muslims, who once held America in high regard, to toe the fundamentalist line. The rest of the book is essentially the story of this transition from a lover of America to a dislike of what America has turned out to be, since the September 11, attacks. This is not true for the main character no longer loves America. In the opening lines of the book, one reads “Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America”. In telling the story of a young Pakistani man falling in and out of love with the United States of America, Mohsin Ahmed attempts to demonstrate the reasons that compel moderate Muslims to become disenchanted with a jingoist America since September 11, 2001. “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is the second book of Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.

The reluctant fundamentalist book pages