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Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ
I'm reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. I've heard that you don't know who dies at the end but that it was meant to be that way. The writing, so far, is superb.
Hmmm. Funny. I got a list of books to read -- including this one -- while reading The End of Your Life Book Club, and now that I'm 15% into this book (it's still excellent), I'm wondering if I'm remembering the ambiguous ending as belonging to ANOTHER book, not this one. I guess I'll find out.
We seem to have survived Hurricane Sandy. One big limb down in the back yard, some pretty serious winds, quite a bit of rain, but that was it. We certainly got nothing as horribly dramatic as they got in NYC and other places. My heart is with them. It's raining now and they're calling for thunderstorms all day, but if the wind has passed us, I'm taking that to mean that Sandy has left the vicinity. Phew!
I'm reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. I've heard that you don't know who dies at the end but that it was meant to be that way. The writing, so far, is superb.
Oh goodie! I watched the news, thinking, dammit, tell me how Dawn's doing. I worried about how you would read without power and how would Artie do his business if he can't go outside.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit
Oh goodie! I watched the news, thinking, dammit, tell me how Dawn's doing. I worried about how you would read without power and how would Artie do his business if he can't go outside.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
Reputation: 28903
I finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. I enjoyed it a lot! It was one long monologue by a Pakistani man who had spent some years in NJ and NYC, to an American visitor in Pakistan. I was a bit (OK, a lot) miffed by the typos (and there were quite a few in the middle of the book, including one or two missing words) but I was really enjoying the story. Some readers might find the voice of the narrator off-putting, but I really thought that his tone was essential to the tale. I'm not sure that I would unequivocally recommend it, but I think that some of you might really enjoy it. Definitely worth checking out if you see it at your library.
I started Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. I'm just a few pages in. I can only hope that it doesn't get too philosophical, because that's where it would lose me.
It was one long monologue by a Pakistani man who had spent some years in NJ and NYC, to an American visitor in Pakistan. ... Paulo Coelho. I'm just a few pages in. I can only hope that it doesn't get too philosophical, because that's where it would lose me.
On a related note... I read an article in the New Yorker recently of Salman Rushdie's account of the days following the Ayatollah's fatwā -- and was reminded of how much I've enjoyed his writing. The article brilliantly (IMO) described how he came to write the book, beginning with his fascination with the origin of the Islamic religion during his studies in college history.
As soon as I got home, I immediately went to the library site to see how many of his works I could check out for my Kindle.
As for Coelho, I've learned a little bit of Paulo goes a very long way for me. I hope this one is engaging for you.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ
I started Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. I'm just a few pages in. I can only hope that it doesn't get too philosophical, because that's where it would lose me.
Okaaaaay, how odd is it that there's a character in this work of fiction... named Paulo Coelho? And that the author (also Paolo Coelho) refers to him as Paolo Coelho? And that the character -- Paolo Coelho -- is also an author, like Paolo Coelho, the author of this book?
Also: When you write "Paolo Coelho" multiple times in one sentence, the name is harder and harder to type.
ETA: Oh! It just got funnier. He's referring to himself writing this book, the one that I'm holding. So he's referring to himself in third person. Like George Costanza in Seinfeld saying "George likes his chicken spicy." Oy.
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