Petite Pirate

There’s something about the summer months that make me want to sink my teeth into as many books as possible. It’s like this insatiable thirst for literature that takes over. I think it’s because there is so much reading to do throughout the college year. I find that the academic year robs me of reading for pleasure. Each semester brought 5 foreign language novels plus text books and online materials, not to mention the course work carried out through English. Compress that into 12 weeks of classes and it doesn’t leave much time for leisurely reading when you’ve assignments to complete. 

Anyway back to the topic at hand. :) Summer and the allure of literature!

The weather has been surprisingly nice here lately, so nice in fact, that we experienced a heat wave. Considering that Summer usually lasts a day in this country, an extended weekend of sunshine is not to be sniffed at! I decided to use this rare stroke of luck to relax in the garden with a book and a cold drink. Having developed a red hue on one side of my body and finishing an overall disappointing novel, I decided that I would get out and about the city the following morning.

At the top of my list was the goal of finding some gripping novels that I could sink my teeth into. Finding foreign language novels is quite difficult here, unless you’re looking for the 18th and 19th century classics that dominate the academic curricula. I found myself rummaging through an old second hand book and record store and even those offerings weren’t great. I was sure I’d find a little gem. No such luck. :( However I did find the gem in the form of an English language novel. It might not have been what I was looking for but Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist turned out to be a great find! 

I really enjoy reading about cultures which very so greatly from my own and Hamid’s brief story (a mere 209 pages) did not disappoint. It held my attention and although I found Hamid’s writing style unusual to begin with I found myself unable to tear myself away. There’s something which urges one to continue, something inexplicable. The book is written as a monlogue, a one sided conversation, yet it is stimulating rather than tiresome. Moreover it leaves the reader thinking as it does not provide a definitive answer to questions raised. This i believe, is what has left me with such a profound fondness for the book but at the same time a deep longing for some form of closure. Not in the form of a definitive ending to this particular story but in the form of additonal installment to Hamid’s writings. Much like the work of Khaled Hosseini, Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist leaves one with a deep sentiment of longing for the author to further expand their works by imagining new creations.