"When Daru Shezad is fired from his banking job in Lahore, he begins a decline that plummets the length of this sharply drawn, subversive tale. Before long, he can't pay his bills, and he loses his toehold among Pakistan's cell-phone-toting elite. Daru descends into drugs and dissolution, and, for good measure, he falls in love with the wife of his childhood friend and rival, Ozi--the beautiful, restless Mumtaz.
Desperate to reverse his fortunes, Daru embarks on a career in crime, taking as his partner Murad Badshah, the notorious rickshaw driver, populist, and pirate. When a long-planned heist goes awry, Daru finds himself on trial for a murder he may or may not have committed. The uncertainty of his fate mirrors that of Pakistan itself, hyped on the prospect of becoming a nuclear player even as corruption drains its political will.
Fast-paced and unexpected, "Moth Smoke" portrays a contemporary Pakistan as far more vivid and disturbing than the exoticized images of South Asia familiar to most of the West. This debut novel establishes Mohsin Hamid as a writer of substance and imagination."
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Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid
An observant tale of young Pakistanis caught between two conflicting worlds. The book was a convincing debut novel by the author.
A fantastic read, deserves a 4 out of 5.
The Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid is more known for his prizewinning novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), but like with many authors, he has provided us with some excellent tales before and after his ‘breakthrough’ as well.
The Characters
It takes place in the sizzling hot streets of Lahore and follows the junior banker, Daru Shezad, as his life starts taking unexpected turns. Daru is a character that is lost and insecure – a young man out of place and out of touch with himself as well as the rest of the world.
His summer becomes filled with conflict when is childhood friend returns from the US. Ozi is the opposite of Daru. Confident, in a well-paid job and he is married to a beautiful wife, Mumtaz.
The heroine, in a way, is Mumtaz, who like many strong female characters is not all that she seems to be. She is hungry for knowledge and secretly lives a life as an investigative journalist.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pages will see Daru and Mumtaz’s relationship develop into a destructive love affair.
The Setting
The events with the twists and turns, juggling between the air-conditioned homes of the Lahori upper class and the impoverished city streets and shacks inhabited by the servants of this class.
Hamid describes quite well how a simple thing like the air-conditioning signifies this clash of the two worlds. The upper classes in their lust for cool air constantly drain the electricity grid empty, causing further chaos to the corrupt city.
The atmosphere is filled with not just the warmth of the Pakistani summer, but the escalating tension between India and Pakistan. The threat of nuclear destruction drives the narrative forward, as the characters try to deal with their own inner demons.
The Verdict
Moth Smoke is a beautifully written book that makes you feel the heat. Hamid is excellent in making you smell the tasty chicken biryani through the pages and have you reach out for cooling lemonade to quench the thirst.
The book flows beautifully, although the pace is somewhat complicated by the fact that he has chosen to switch between the narrators. There are times where you need to think about whose voice it is you’re hearing.
Some of the twists and turns also feel a little clumsy and at times forced. But then again, we are talking about a debut novel.
Overall, the depiction of the struggles of the poor and the inner turmoil of the new upper classes feels real. It all feels authentic; which is natural as Hamid grew up in Lahore and studied abroad in the US later on. You can sense this inner conflict of feeling like you don’t really belong anywhere.
It is a great book with some intelligent observations. The feelings after reading it will be a bit conflicted, you’ll almost feel like Daru.
If this was a movie:
Daru – Aamir Khan
Ozi – Ajay Devgan
Mumtaz – Kareena Kapoor
Disclaimer: This review has been kindly provided to me by Robert Reeve
I have not read this book
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