Tomas Bustillos’s Reviews > The Reluctant Fundamentalist > Status Update

Erica is one of the most annoying people to have to read about. Whenever Changez gets close to her she has always finds a way to bring Chris into the situation. I do know where she's coming from though just because she's known Chris her whole life . Its always hard to move on from a loss but its very usual for people to and Erica has not shown any signs of this except trying to start somthing with Changez

This novel is known for its open and implicit view of the perspective of someone from Pakistan experiencing 9/11, but apart from that, there is a lot of symbolism in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. One example is Erica, who symbolizes America. The biggest symbol in this book, in my opinion, is Chris, who represents the downfall of a global powerhouse, shown through Chris’s death.

So far, The Reluctant Fundamentalist has had me reaching for it more and more. To explain this behavior, it has to do with the consistency of absurd and abnormal behavior that Changez displays throughout the novel. First off, when I was going through pages 70 to 80, there was a part that talked about how Changez felt joy upon hearing about 9/11. Then, he shows how open he is to talk about his personal life.

American power is one of the themes of The Reluctant Fundamentalist due to the timeframe and setting of the novel. So far, this so-called power is shown in two characters: Jim (the interviewer) and Erica’s father. Both of them are way too comfortable asking about his past and his status. The Reluctant Fundamentalist has been super frank in the fact that racism is everywhere and you can’t escape it.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is known for its difficult and hard writing, which most find annoying, but I find it quite relatable. The way in which Mohsin Hamid adds time switches into his writing is impressive. In these time cuts, he shows the before and after of the emotions toward Pakistani society due to 9/11. For example, when he cuts back to the present, the visitor is alert, while in the past, they were calm.