Mohsin Hamid has been known as a water lily for the manner in which he’s floated here and there. The 43-year-old writer from Lahore has built up roots, developed and flourished in places as unique as Pakistan, London, California and New York. He’s most popular as the writer of the 2007 universal smash hit The Reluctant Fundamentalist which has been translated in 30 unique dialects. This novel was shortlisted for Britain’s Man Booker Prize. This was made into a 2013 film coordinated by Mira Nair.
Hamid’s professional life started in the business world, not in book composing. In the wake of going to Princeton University and Harvard Law School, he filled in as an administration expert in New York. His first novel, Moth Smoke in 2000, propelled him into the literary limelight. The narrative of a financier in Lahore, Moth Smoke was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway grant, given for an extraordinary presentation work of fiction.
Hamid proceeded to write two additional books and in the long run, left New York for Lahore. He lives with his wife and two kids. His new book of articles, Discontent and Its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York and London, investigates a portion of his reasoning, reflection and memory in the course of recent years. Talking with Scott Simon, host of Weekend Edition Saturday, he analyzes a portion of the crevices of the post-9/11 world, the estimation of “mongrelization” — and the intensity of affection.
A Short Biography of Mohsin Hamid
In the course of history, very few literary figures are known for revitalizing Pakistani literature. One of those acknowledged figures is Mohsin Hamid. Not only in Pakistan but his marvellous writing skills have become the reason for his worldwide fame. He is a Pakistani writer. His most famous works are Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moth Smoke, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.
Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani born English novelist. He was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He was born on 23 July 1971. He was born into a Punjabi family and they basically belong to Kashmir. Much of his childhood can be traced to the United States. His father was a professor. Hamid`s father was enrolled in Ph. D. at Stanford University. Hamid had to stay from 3-9 years of age in the United States with his family.
After some time, his family came back to Pakistan. Hamid pursued his early education in Pakistan in Lahore American School. When he reached the age of 18, he returned to the United States in order to get a higher education.
Hamid got admission to Princeton University. In 1993, he graduated with the highest scores. The contemporary literary figures as Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison trained and advised Hamid. Being mentored by such skilful writers, he developed the taste of writing. At the workshop of Morrison, Hamid started writing the first draft of his novel. When he graduated, he returned to Pakistan. In Pakistan, he became more focused on writing his novel.
After some time in Pakistan, he took a flight to America in order to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1997. He started a job in Mckinsey and company in New York to support his student life. He was appointed as a management consultant. In order to complete his novel, he took some vacations.
Afterwards, in 2001, he went to London. He planned to spend a year in London but he spent eight years there. He got the citizenship of the United Kingdom in 2006 and became a dual citizen of Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
Hamid`s wife is also from Lahore. She got educated abroad. After marriage, Hamid`s love for travelling increased. His drifting from country to the country made him famous with the name of water lily. He moved to Pakistan in 2009 with his wife Zahra and daughter Dina. His life is mostly divided into different parts of the world such as Lahore, London, New York, Greece and Italy.
His first novel is Moth Smoke. It got published in 2000. The story of this novel revolved around a drug-addicted man, who was an ex-banker. The novel shows the writing skills of Hamid. The narrative techniques used by Hamid gave him ingenious poison in the world of literature. The novel discussed minor issues but its larger meaning brought it the PEN/Hemingway award.
He published his second novel Reluctant Fundamentalist in 2007. The story of this novel is concerned with the incident of 9/11 and how it affected the life of Pakistani`s living in America. Hamid mostly used dramatic monologues in this novel. This book became a part of the New York Times Best-Sellers. This book enhanced the position of Hamid. This novel was selected for the Man Booker Prize. It also got so many other prizes including The Asian American Literary Award and Anisfield Wolf Award.
His next publication was How to Get Filthy Rich in Asia. It is a highly praised novel. Mohsin Hamid took part in different fields of life including Literature, politics and art and article writings. His works are acknowledged worldwide and have been translated into twenty-five languages.
Mohsin’s next novel was Discontent and its Civilizations. It was published in 2016. NPR called this novel as a close impeccable paper assortment, loaded up with knowledge, sympathy, and acumen. In this novel, Hamid follows the break lines produced by 10 years and a portion of seismic change, from the war on terror to the battles of people to keep up humankind in the inflexible substance of philosophy, or the unconcerned essence of globalization.
His most recent novel, Exit West, was published in 2017. This novel follows the tale of a couple’s departure from their war-torn home through a chain of strange entryways prompting outside terrains. Without a moment’s delay fantastical and horrendously significant, Exit West investigates subjects of unwaveringly, fearlessness, and expectation in a completely near-future world. This novel got shortlisted for the renowned Man Booker Prize in 2017. It also won the debut Aspen Words Literary Prize in 2018.
Mohsin’s articles and short stories have shown up in The New York Times, the Guardian, the New Yorker, Granta, TIME, the Washington Post, the New York Review of Books, the Financial Times, and the Paris Review. He has addressed at many colleges around the globe, from Stanford and Yale to the London School of Economics and the National University of Singapore. In 2013, he was named as one of the world’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy Magazine.
Mohsin Hamid’s Writing Style
Mohsin Hamid states about his writing style that he, in general, composes stories in realism. In his books, somebody beginning to look all starry eyed at or smoking a joint is a lot of part of a genuine world. For him, the possibility of an apparently pragmatist story inside a hyper-genuine edge makes a ton of fervour. In this case, he set up the readers to decipher the plan of things. This opens the space of understanding. On the off chance that composing resembles a move, it is where the reader moves close by.
Point of View
The point of view Mohsin Hamid uses for his novels is mainly first-person narrative. It is because he talks about his own experiences of life as he knows that action. ‘Moth Smoke’ and ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ are in first individual stories, which address the readers as well. Today, TV and movies have become predominant accounts however people despite everything love reading and enjoying books.
At the point when a reader gets a book, it changes story into feelings into readers. The novel is an encouragement to go into the story. He attempts to compose books, where reader translation is conclusive. He accepts that readers need to get the guarantee of a story. He would prefer not to deter that.
There are two perspectives utilized throughout the novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The two view focuses are ably flipped to and fro to introduce alternate points of view and even states of mind while perusing. Most of the portrayal is from the first-person perspective while there are little areas sprinkled throughout the novel that are written in the subsequent individual perspective.
The writer uses a first individual perspective as he recounts a mind-blowing tale in America. This is completely introduced in the past tense. When Changez starts to recount his story makes it completely dependable. Not exclusively are the activities and words to be accepted. However Changez can share his feelings and contemplations. This is significant in light of the fact that the story should be solid so as to comprehend the progressions which occur in Changez’s reasoning.
Mohsin Hamid’s tale Moth Smoke is composed from various perspectives however the essential voice utilized is that of the first-person. A second-person perspective shows up in a few parts like Chapter Two, Eight and Chapter 14. However, these three sections also utilize third-individual narrative. The preamble and epilogue are composed only from the third-individual perspective. Section 4: Opening the Purple Box: An Interview with Professor Julius Superb is one of a kind in this regard.
However, on the grounds that there is no single perspective so this part is organized like a play. In this chapter, there are no quotes, yet all that is composed is intended to be treated as an exchange.
Moth Smoke additionally has different storytellers. However, every part just has a solitary storyteller. Those characters that describe from the first-person perspective are completely observed and known to the readers. However, the storyteller is obscure in a few parts of the book.
Reader-Author Connection
Mohsin Hamid writes in a meeting with The Guardian about his creative cycle. He said if the novel was unique since it permitted essayists and readers to make a cordial bond so he would attempt to compose books that expanded this chance of freeing themselves up. He said that he wanted to be pursued in various manners, including the readers as a sort of character, undoubtedly as a sort of co-author. In his first novel, Moth Smoke, this association among readers and writers happens as the readers make a decision about the proof introduced about the hero.
In his third novel, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the story is told in the subsequent individual, depicting totally the activities of “You.” In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the readers take the situation of the quiet American more bizarre who they have never got notification from. Since the whole novel appears as an emotional monologue told by Changez, doubtlessly it may prohibit the readers. However, Changez mentions such a large number of objective facts about his audience’s responses and estimates his musings.
This urges the readers to deal with the character of Changez as well as with the projection, or seizure, of oneself that Hamid makes through the character of Changez. In addition, with no omniscient storyteller, the reader is left with vulnerability regarding what the fact of the matter is in the story.