MOHSIN HAMID
We had a good turnout for this book. The only ones MIA were Greta (in France) and Art (in Yosemite).
The discussion began slowly - there were lots of other things to talk about. Best student story goes to Ms. Grace, "Did we really visit another planet?" and best sailing story goes to Tony, "We made it".
The aspect that everyone seemed to like about the book was how the narrator seemed to have two distinct voices - a young voice when he was describing his life in America and an older, more mature voice when he was talking in the cafe in Lahore. Ann straightened out the title for us. The narrator didn't seem to be a Muslim fundamentalist but she pointed out that this was a reference to his work in the New York world of high finance: "Stick to the fundamentals" he was told when he was first hired. Tony pointed out a nice turn of phrase that exemplified the authors command of language: "Maximum return was a maxim we returned to again and again." I liked the way he kept his protagonist on the edge of the American mainstream: "Even after four years I never became an American but I was a New Yorker from the very first day."
We did have some concerns about the "girlfriend". Janice thought that this character was superfluous and a little bit of a distraction from the main narrative. Everybody wondered about the ending. Who was the mysterious "tourist"? Was he a CIA operative planning to assassinate our narrator? Or was he merely a tourist trying to get a better understanding of modern-day Pakistan. You must decide that for yourself!
