Fiction
Verdict: Read it
This too was a recommended read. I had previously read The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, so I was eager to read another of his works.
The story follow the main character - Darashikoh Shezad after he has lost his job. His slow spiral into poverty, being dirty, and pretty much giving up hope of anything positive. He ends up seducing a friend's wife and getting deep into heroin. It's a pretty nasty spiral.
But there are some interesting things to observe. Being poor in Lahore and having jet setting friends leads to some interesting situations. And Darashikoh keeps finding himself in interesting situations but absolutely messing them up. I also thoroughly enjoyed Mohsin Hamid's portrayal of Darashikoh. I didn't hate him, I just got a severe case of the "ick" watching him spiral. It's easy to make someone love, hate, or be indifferent to a character. Giving someone the ick over a character is an art, and Hamid nailed it.
I believe the author was trying to illuminate how easy it is for a decently successful person to spiral out of control with a few bad choices and circumstances. He got the point across but the real winner of this story is the character development and portrayal. Brilliant and worth the read.
Read it!
~Becky~
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