Thursday, March 5, 2009

Two Worlds Apart

To me, the thing that makes this book so unique and fascinating is the setting. It's fairly common to have a book in which the setting switches back and forth between different time periods, or different locations so as to enhance the plot, but it's not everyday that it is done in the style of Mohsin Hamid. He manages to switch back and forth between New York and Pakistan so smoothly, without distracting the reader with distinct separations or separate chapters for each setting. When I first starting the book, I thought that I'd get confused with the two parallel plots but I haven't gotten lost once in the story, since the two stories intertwine so well. The seemingly only contrasting locales end up having several similarities, and we can see this so well through Changez's narration. New York is a place of endless activity, there is always something going on. In New York, Changez is a man of class with several honors, yet he remains humble throughout and as a result of this, he stands out. The way he melds with New York while still being a unique character helps us understand so much more. As we see Changez reflect on his time in America, and he subtly points out the differences and similarties between his two homes, we learn about Lahore and the people who live there. The way he deals with the changes in setting help us learn so much about Changez, while adding to the plot.

4 comments:

  1. I agree with you that the story does flow very nicely, and isn't as difficult to follow as it seems like it would be. But is Changez really that unique? In the beginning he is very humble, the perfect picture of a gentleman. However towards the end of his stay in America, he adapts more 'American' qualities and becomes rude, not as much of a hard worker, even a bit persnickety.

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  2. Laura,
    In some respects, I feel that Changez is unique, but not in others. For example, he is unique in being an incredibly intelligent foreigner to the US, who becomes incredibly successful. But the fact that he is a selfish, emotional and angry man makes him not unique. However, I can see where you would say that he isn't unique because all humans are unique. Which leads one to think, "what exactly IS unique?" After all, if we're all "unique" how is the unification of a population of "uniqueness" "unique"? (I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, it was incredibly hard to explain, and I don't think I did a great job)

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  3. No Michaela that actually makes a lot of sense! It's sort of like the concept of normal. How everyone compares themselves to this ideal standard of normal, but if no one is really normal, then aren't we all normal? I also like the point you raise about him being a successful foreigner. Which really is unique because in some ways America is a closed market, and it's difficult to be successful if you aren't considered 'American'.

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  4. I can definitely see how Changez is not unique, considering his actions, especially toward the end of the book. I think that the reason he seems so unique to me is just in terms of his narration. The book itself is unique in many ways; the way it's set up is complex yet easy to follow, and switches back and forth between two different settings without chapter breaks, and the perspective being a young Pakistani immigrant to the US isn't one I read very often. So what I'm trying to get at is maybe he's not unique, but the way Changez's character is portrayed and the context is unique? Since after all, as you guys say, if we're all different, we're all the same.

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