Play Book Tag discussion

In this book, the increasingly volatile relationship between East and West is shown through Changez’s growing disillusionment with American society and his eventual abandonment of the US. Whilst this book is too short to do much more than skim the surface and leave the reader with many questions, it does address 9/11, terrorism and religious differences and tensions. As I was reading this, I felt that how the book is interpreted, especially the ending, would largely depend on the readers views or assumptions about Pakistan and the US. The book reads as a monologue with Changez telling his life story to an American in a café in Lahore and, though we never know who the American is, it is implied that he might be a CIA agent. Through Changez’s tale, we find out how disconnected he feels to the US and that despite his love for New York and his attempts to assimilate to the US, he just doe not find the culture or lifestyle in America appealing. I really liked this book being told from the outsider’s point of view, and there was also a lot of tension just beneath the surface that kept me guessing. I know that this book, and the ending especially, will stay with me for a long time.

Team: Sassy Sisterhood. Extra read for “H”. Matches tag x 13

Glad to see you enjoyed this one too!

This is a quiet, powerful book.

I have read this one before and this month I read both Exit West and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by the same author. All the books are short and the protagonists and settings aren't explicitly named, that is sometimes the main character's name is never given, and the name of the country never is. I imagine this is to invoke the universality of their situations. But I found them all too slim and abstract to really affect me, even though they all contain highly dramatic material. I guess I wanted more old-fashioned storytelling.