Study Guide

the Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

39 pages

English language

Published Oct. 4, 2019 by Independently Published, Independently published.

ISBN:
978-1-7978-2434-5
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3 stars (20 reviews)

51 editions

Review of 'A Gentleman in Moscow' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The story was good, but there are a lot of unanswered questions! The fact that a lot of things are left to the imagination or personal conclusions is a combination of great and unsettling. I like being able to keep a book that I have read going in my brain - to reach my own conclusions and decisions - but a lot of it seems unfinished and like there's more to that to be filled in. But I really did like the story!

Review of 'Study Guide' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The library wanted this book back before I could finish it. My rating/review is based on finishing about 75% of it.

I thought “ghettoside” was a play on “homicide” – death caused by living in a ghetto (yeah, OK, I got the suffix wrong, “-cide” vs. “-side”). However, “ghettoside” is a place, as in “westside.”

Keep in mind that I read this book amidst almost daily news reports about portray trigger-happy police officers. The author, Jill Leovy, seems to be trying very hard to show that most cops are not racist. She focuses on Detective Tennelle, "that rare officer who actually lived the philosophy so long advanced by LAPD critics: he had chosen to live in the city he policed out of valor and a sense of responsibility.” This is one reason why cultural-socio-economic inequality is so difficult to overcome:

“To many officers, black residents of these ghettoside neighborhoods seemed …

Review of 'A Gentleman in Moscow' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

The potential for this to be a really good science fiction novel exists. Unfortunately, it's just potential. In order to achieve that, it would need:
1. Another round of editing. A few tense shifts, some head hopping, and some grammar mistakes need to be shaken out. The beginning of the book could use a little work, especially keeping in mind the old writer's saying "show, don't tell".
2. The book needs to decide what it wants to be. Mostly, it looks like a coming of age science fiction adventure novel. But then, out of nowhere, two characters start quipping about man salad (in the context of eating...ewww!). This does not belong in a young adult novel. Then we suddenly get a bunch of romantic angst that feels quite out of place. This could be a good young adult coming of age adventure, a good science fiction comedy, or a good …

Review of 'Study Guide' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Lots and lots of historical authenticity dulled by an unsophisticated writing style and overly simplistic plot.

I was very interested in learning about the Asian-American community in Seattle during the 1940's. Actually, in the context of this book, "Asian-American community" is a misnomer; the relationship between Chinese Henry and Japanese Keiko was unusual partly because the ethnic groups lived in such separate worlds.

My favorite character was Sheldon, the black musician who takes the father-figure role for Henry. My favorite scene took place in the jazz club, where Henry and Keiko manage to sneak in for a performance.

The book spent so much time with the pre-teen Henry that I started to think that this was a book written for young adults. Other contributing factors: short sentences, easy words, "flat" characters.

Perhaps this is me being overly sensitive (my father's family was in an internment camp), but I felt that …

Review of 'A Gentleman in Moscow' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I really should get credit for reading two separate books. One storyline involved the creation of a whiz-bang virtual reality "Cavern" by a well-funded lab in the Pacific Northwest. The other story focused on the kidnapping of an American in Lebanon.

I found the speechifying by the VR programmers to be unrealistic and rather dull.

The kidnapping saga generally held my interest but towards the end, I found myself skipping sections.

The two storylines do eventually come together, barely, in a science fictiony way that was an unconvincing jolt from the previous 400 realistic pages.

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