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The Election
350 pages, Paperback
Published November 4, 2024
8 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Omar Shahid Hamid
11 books189 followersOmar Shahid Hamid served with Pakistan's Karachi police for 12 years, during which time he was targeted by various terrorist groups and criminal outfits. He received his Masters in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics, and his Masters in Law from University College London.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 14, 2026
The Election is Omar Shahid Hamid at his most mischievous. If his earlier novels often felt like sharp noir interrogations of crime, violence, and institutional decay, this one feels like he decided to loosen his tie, lean back, and say: “Fine. Let’s laugh at the circus—because crying would take too long.” The result is a political satire that reads briskly, smirks knowingly, and never pretends that Pakistan’s electoral theatre is meant to be taken at face value.
The plot moves fast, the characters move faster, and everyone seems to be running for something—office, relevance, survival, or just the exit. Hamid populates the novel with politicians who are transparently absurd yet uncomfortably familiar, bureaucrats who believe they are the last sane adults in the room, and fixers who understand democracy mostly as a contact sport. No one is entirely innocent, but everyone is entertaining.
What makes The Election work is Hamid’s controlled irreverence. He does not descend into slapstick or cartoon villainy; instead, the humour is dry, observational, and edged with professional cynicism. You can almost hear the author smiling quietly as institutions solemnly trip over themselves. The jokes land because they are rooted in recognition—this is satire that assumes the reader has lived through press conferences, watched results crawl across TV screens, and felt the peculiar exhaustion of being promised change for the fifteenth time.
Stylistically, the prose is clean and economical. Hamid does not linger where momentum would suffer. Chapters move like news cycles: quick bursts of urgency followed by moments of reflective disbelief. Even when the novel brushes up against darker realities—coercion, compromise, quiet threats—it never loses its lightness of touch. This is not a moral sermon disguised as fiction; it is a knowing wink delivered with professional polish.
Compared to heavier political novels, The Election is refreshingly unserious about its seriousness. It does not claim to diagnose Pakistan’s democratic failures, nor does it pretend that exposure alone will cure them. Its achievement lies elsewhere: it captures the vibe of an election season—the noise, the manoeuvring, the overconfidence, the selective amnesia—with enough humour to keep the reader turning pages and enough truth to sting just a little.
In short, The Election is like watching politics from the back row with a cup of tea and low expectations: you know how it ends, but the commentary makes the experience worthwhile. It is sharp without being cruel, funny without being frivolous, and cynical in the most earned, Pakistani way possible. If democracy is a performance, Omar Shahid Hamid has written an excellent backstage comedy
The plot moves fast, the characters move faster, and everyone seems to be running for something—office, relevance, survival, or just the exit. Hamid populates the novel with politicians who are transparently absurd yet uncomfortably familiar, bureaucrats who believe they are the last sane adults in the room, and fixers who understand democracy mostly as a contact sport. No one is entirely innocent, but everyone is entertaining.
What makes The Election work is Hamid’s controlled irreverence. He does not descend into slapstick or cartoon villainy; instead, the humour is dry, observational, and edged with professional cynicism. You can almost hear the author smiling quietly as institutions solemnly trip over themselves. The jokes land because they are rooted in recognition—this is satire that assumes the reader has lived through press conferences, watched results crawl across TV screens, and felt the peculiar exhaustion of being promised change for the fifteenth time.
Stylistically, the prose is clean and economical. Hamid does not linger where momentum would suffer. Chapters move like news cycles: quick bursts of urgency followed by moments of reflective disbelief. Even when the novel brushes up against darker realities—coercion, compromise, quiet threats—it never loses its lightness of touch. This is not a moral sermon disguised as fiction; it is a knowing wink delivered with professional polish.
Compared to heavier political novels, The Election is refreshingly unserious about its seriousness. It does not claim to diagnose Pakistan’s democratic failures, nor does it pretend that exposure alone will cure them. Its achievement lies elsewhere: it captures the vibe of an election season—the noise, the manoeuvring, the overconfidence, the selective amnesia—with enough humour to keep the reader turning pages and enough truth to sting just a little.
In short, The Election is like watching politics from the back row with a cup of tea and low expectations: you know how it ends, but the commentary makes the experience worthwhile. It is sharp without being cruel, funny without being frivolous, and cynical in the most earned, Pakistani way possible. If democracy is a performance, Omar Shahid Hamid has written an excellent backstage comedy
November 30, 2024
A crisp delight sharp spoof of American and Pakistani geopolitics with well defined characters and plot.
While the cover leaves much to be desired, it is a story that needs to be read with an open mind and approach, especially if anyone holds any political sides and affinities.
There are passages to admire, especially the one about Megalomaniacs. That's what this book is about.
It is about two characters who vye for the most powerful post in their country's borders that the tactics they will use to acquire it, with the story underscoring how disposable anyone is in rhe game of power. in all this, what is admirable is the notes that have faced the two countries in reality over the last two decades.
It is not remotely a commentary, but is certainly a spoof, one that is very enjoyable and leaves one laughing out loud for irs familiar and relatable notes.
While the cover leaves much to be desired, it is a story that needs to be read with an open mind and approach, especially if anyone holds any political sides and affinities.
There are passages to admire, especially the one about Megalomaniacs. That's what this book is about.
It is about two characters who vye for the most powerful post in their country's borders that the tactics they will use to acquire it, with the story underscoring how disposable anyone is in rhe game of power. in all this, what is admirable is the notes that have faced the two countries in reality over the last two decades.
It is not remotely a commentary, but is certainly a spoof, one that is very enjoyable and leaves one laughing out loud for irs familiar and relatable notes.
March 23, 2025
Since many years I intended to read any of the novels by Omar Shahid Hamid, but never started any. When I cam to know about this book through a review appeared in DAWN, I searched for the book & ordered. Immediately after receiving the copy started turning page. It took 15 days in reading first half while just three days while in finishing the second half.
This is a fine work of fiction which describes the two elections in two countries, Pakistan & United States, very well. Story telling & connection between chapters is brilliant.
This is a fine work of fiction which describes the two elections in two countries, Pakistan & United States, very well. Story telling & connection between chapters is brilliant.
December 17, 2024
Wouldn’t call it his best book, but nearly half way through wanted to stop reading it as there way too similarities with the real world. But then the pace and story changed to a page turner , would recommend it be read.
April 13, 2025
Pretty good, worth a read if you like his style. Not quite as good as some of this others.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews