The Reluctant Fundamentalist — Mohsin Hamid

The story starts off with a bearded man named Changez sharing his experiences of living in America to a stranger, coincidentally an American citizen, whom he met at a road side cafe in Lahore while having tea with him.

Changez, in his head believes that he belongs to an affluent family, yet frequently talks about the decaying conditions of his family house in Lahore. Went on a scholarship to Princeton University, got into a high end financial corporation and met Erica, the girl of his dreams. But everything changed after 9/11, as he was subjugated to racial prejudices because of his identify.

However, with time things started to settle for him, his job was more than rewarding, Erica on the other hand was in turmoil because she couldn’t get over her past, which eventually led to her disappearance. Changez came back to Pakistan and started teaching, but couldn’t forget Erica ever.

It seems that the writer uses Erica as a metaphor for AmERICA. After 9/11 USA lost its charm for many young Pakistanis because of racial subjugation and discrimination. Their dreams were scattered and America, the haven for dreamers was lost in prejudices and still haven’t been able to recover from it fully.