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For Mohsin Hamid, a managementconsultant-turned-novelist, theaverage workday has definitelychanged pace. These days he sits

around, reflects on life and allows thedaily scenes of London to seep into hispsyche. There, a multitude of ideas floataround, cross pathsand sometimes linkup into linearthoughts. When a nar-rative is conceived,Hamid decides thestory’s form, voiceand themes. And,according to Hamid,when his idea takesflesh and he is dyingto write it, he’ll pickup a pen.

It can be a longprocess. While he fin-ished the first draft ofhis latest novel, TheReluctantFundamentalist, overfive years ago in pre-9/11 2001, it has justrecently been sched-uled for release fornext spring. Thenovel is told as a conversation betweentwo Americans, one originally fromPakistan, in a Lahore café. ThePakistani-American man shares hisstory about living in New York and thenreturning back to his hometown.

Similar to Moth Smoke, Hamid’s latestnovel largely reflects Hamid’s observa-tions of the world around him.Moreover, he draws from his own expe-

riences: Hamid, like his character, livedin New York City and, in fact, com-pleted his first draft there.

But given that the story was firstcompleted pre-9/11, it inevitablychanged, as did Hamid’s experiences.To quote him: “9/11 is in some senses

the pivot around which the novel turns,although the characters have nothing todo with 9/11 itself and are not directlyaffected by it.”

Instead of being inspired by any sin-gle event, Hamid describes his novel asa culmination of thousands of littleinspirations that came together to drivethe novel. Post 9/11, Hamid had beenheld in questioning rooms at JFK

Airport in New York, and while it wasnever “nasty,” he explains that it madehim feel both foreign and undesirable inthe U.S. Now situated in London, hesenses less fear against Muslims, and thecity makes him feel closer to home.

The idea of home is an interesting one

for Hamid, who, in his adult life, hasspent more years away from Lahorethan he has spent living there. But with acloset full of clothes and shelves ofbooks still in his parents’ home, it seemsas if a part of Hamid never left. “I’venever relinquished Lahore in the wayothers have. I’ve gone back to Pakistanfor a year at times.” And the city contin-ues to be an important theme in his nov-

By Ambreen Ali

Through Foreign EyesFor Mohsin Hamid, his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, draws on more than thegrim realities of the world around him; it reflects the evolution of himself.

Mohsin Hamid: Continuing to makeconnections and conversations.

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els. So much so, that after just one novel,Hamid has emerged as an important lit-erary voice of Lahore.

But with an adult life spread overthree cities and three continents, hisnovels reflect, explains Hamid, how hehas evolved as a person. After growingup in Lahore, he took off for the U.S. tostudy. When he returned from collegewith “American eyes,” he began to seehis hometown differently. His aware-ness of the economic divide helped himunderstand class struggles,despite his privileged back-ground. He was able to writethe character of Daru, a strug-gling middle-class worker.Hamid convincingly defendsDaru’s resentment against hisupper-class friend, Ozi, andOzi’s lifestyle. But then Hamid,with as much conviction,defends Ozi’s lifestyle andchoices. He is able to presentLahore’s struggles with com-plexity, leaving the reader todetermine where the fault lies.

“I haven’t seen the lives ofyoung, educated urbanites por-trayed in [Pakistani] fiction.I’ve always read writing thathas a magical realism. I wantedto give those people a voice,”Hamid explains. “I don’t thinkI had any special insight; it’sjust an individual perspective Igained from going abroad andcoming back.”

Moth Smokewas received well byaudiences in the U.S. and was reviewedby Jhumpa Lahiri, The Chicago Tribune,and Esquire. The New Yorker praised thenovel’s “fast-paced, intelligent narra-tion.” Hamid felt the pressure of his pastsuccess while writing his second novel,which he was surprised to find wasmore difficult to write.

“I’m no longer writing for myself, butfor an imagined reader. For TheReluctant Fundamentalist, I’ve read thereviews [on Moth Smoke], seen my bookon TV, and I’ve bumped into peoplewho have given me their opinions. Buteventually I found something thatinspires me as much, if not more. Ididn’t think it could happen, but I lovethe second novel more than the first.”

Like Moth Smoke, we can anticipateThe Reluctant Fundamentalist to be a com-plex web of themes, stories and reflec-tions that represent not only how theworld is evolving, but also Hamid’s per-sonal evolution. Among the themes ofthe novel, he lists love, wounded prideand the experience of being an outsider.He adds, “The story is as American as itis Pakistani.”

And as with Moth Smoke, which wasladen with references to nuclear tests

and premonitions of a nuclear show-down, we can expect to see hints ofHamid’s political convictions, both inrelation to the post 9/11 world, and thepolitics at home. Having been awayfrom Pakistan has certainly not keptHamid from being vocal in his opinionsand criticisms of current affairs in SouthAsia. He has been critical of PresidentPervez Musharraf’s so-called democ-racy. Despite the economic growth hehas been witness to in trips back toLahore, Hamid feels that the currentsystem is not sustainable and expressesconcern over the ethnic tensions in thecountry.

In relation to India and Pakistan,Hamid recognises how nuclearweapons have changed the dynamics ofSouth Asia. “I’m not pro-nuclear, but I

think to an extent Pakistan and Indiahaving nuclear weapons has somewhatforeclosed the opportunity for war. Ifwar is not an option, they have to look atother ways to solve this dispute.”

Hamid is optimistic in his role as awriter in fostering understandingbetween the two nations. He recently co-authored an essay on South Asian artwith an Indian writer, and he hasreceived word that Moth Smoke, whichdid well in India, might be made into an

Indian film. But he was careful to say

that he doesn’t feel Pakistanand India have the same cul-ture. In fact, says Hamid,even Pakistani culture isn’teasily definable. “People inBalochistan have a differentculture than those in Lahoreor Karachi. If you comparePakistani Punjab with theIndian Punjab, you’ll see sim-ilarities. But if you go furtherout, the cultures are differ-ent. I don’t think there is onebig South Asian culture. Butthe more connections wemake, the better it is.”

Hamid intends to continueto make those connectionsand to create discussionthrough his novels. In fact, hehopes his books get people tothink differently aboutissues, just as he did when he

first looked at Lahore with foreign eyes.“I don’t think books change the world,but books are part of a greater cultureoutside them – they begin conversa-tion.” And, says Hamid, that conversa-tions are easier to begin through novelsthan movies, where the cost of produc-tion is much lower.

“You can write more edgy, interest-ing, quirky and different types of pieces.I can’t imagine Hollywood paying tomake my stories come alive on film, butI can see a publishing house puttingdown a much smaller amount to let thatnarrative come into being. So for peopleon the fringes, the novel is a very impor-tant form.”

For Hamid, the successful publica-tion of a second novel indicates that thefringe lifestyle is going strong. ■

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

is told as a conversation

between two Americans, one

originally from Pakistan, in a

Lahore café. “9/11 is in some

senses the pivot around which

the novel turns, although the

characters have nothing to do

with 9/11 itself and are not

directly affected by it,” says

Hamid. “The story is as

American as it is Pakistani.”