Reluctant Fundamentalist

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 09/06/2008 - 10:31.
09/12/2008 - 00:00
09/12/2008 - 18:00
Etc/GMT-5

Mohsin Hamid Friday, September 12, 2008 12:00 PM Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Winner

Mohsin Hamid Author, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

 

Mohsin Hamid will speak about his Anisfield-Wolf Award-winning book “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.”

 

Summary: Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite valuation firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned and his relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.

 

Biography: Mohsin Hamid grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and attended Princeton and Harvard. His first novel, “Moth Smoke,” was a Betty Trask Award winner, a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist, and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His writing has also appeared in Time, the New York Times, and other publications. He lives in London. In partnership with the Cleveland Foundation

IMG_0273.JPG
( categories: )

Brilliant read

Submitted by lmcshane on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 14:53.

Elegant and as fleeting as one day passing into night--twelve chapters worth reading.

Mohsin Hamid at Playhouse Square

Submitted by lmcshane on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 14:54.

 

Tuesday, February 24th / 6:00 p.m.

The Idea Center™ at PlayhouseSquare will host a public lecture entitled "Literature, Pakistan, Islam and 'The West'" by Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Hamid appears as part of the Baker-Nord Center/Cleveland Foundation Lecture Series in partnership with the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards®, Cuyahoga County Public Library, ideastream® and PlayhouseSquare, with support from Continental Airlines. Mohsin Hamid is a recipient of the
2008 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards®.

For tickets and information, please call 216.368.8961 ***

The author's appearance can also be viewed free via live streaming video at two Cuyahoga County Public Library branches:

  Beachwood Branch
25501 Shaker Boulevard / Beachwood, OH 44122 / 216.831.6868

Parma-South Branch
7335 Ridge Road / Parma, OH 44129 / 440.885.5362 


These broadcasts are free and open to the public. Call the host branch for details. For information, visit cuyahogalibrary.org.

Mohsin Hamid

Submitted by lmcshane on Thu, 02/26/2009 - 11:40.

If you haven't read the Reluctant Fundamentalist, yet, please do.  Mohsin Hamid gives props to Toni Morrison and Jame Baldwin for his sense of empathy.  His writing style draws you in and you will have a better understanding of how East meets West after reading his book.

But, beyond his writing, Mohsin Hamid is a philosopher trying to decipher the universals of our human behavior.  Tonight was a great attempt by the author to make us all show empathy for each other.  And, he channels that energy to Barack Obama.  We can make the world a better place.

BTW--this is my response to a friend, who was not as enthralled with the Reluctant Fundamentalist:

I will go back and read it again, but when I first read it I thought that Mohsin Hamid brilliantly captured the irrationality of young minds...and I am talking 20-30 year old comprehension of the world--significantly affected by the urge for sex and procreation and a sense of belonging to a tribe.  I think he nailed the "empathy factor," he talked about at the presentation.   It was an out of body experience for me, so I consider him a great writer.  Not a literary giant, but a damn good writer who is getting there and certainly an intriguing writer.  And, as he noted, there are a lot of other great  writers out there producing interesting work in our time.  But, who am I to criticize?  I am not one of them :)