FURQUITS BOOKSWAP ROUND 2 - Wheelybug's book - TRF by MH

[Wheelybug]

Discuss Away !

I really like this book. The author's narrative style was quite unusual and very well done. I liked how the tension crept up and up to the end although I was a tiny bit troubled by the ending as it was not as clear cut as perhaps I would have liked. The character stated he didn't like violence and would not harm the other character but the ending suggested otherwise. Would be interested to hear what others thought.

Glad you liked it Cathcat. I originally read it because a friend recommended it saying it was a book that made you want to discuss it.

I too found the ending a bit frustrating but have since read this Q&A with the author and the ambiguity was part of it (but I agree that it would have been a more comfortable ending if it had concluded one way or another).

Q: The stunning ending of The Reluctant Fundamentalist leaves room for speculation and debate. Were you deliberately working toward a surprise ending when you first started the novel?

A: I certainly was working toward an ambiguous ending, one that would reflect the reader?s own view of the world back at him or her. Depending on how the reader views the world in which the novel takes place, the reader can see the novel as a thriller or as an encounter between two rather odd gentlemen. Because the journey I am asking readers to undertake is emotional and troubling, I knew I wanted a strong narrative pull, a mystery that would add urgency to their reading. The ending, I hope, is the culmination of those efforts.

I have just finished this book and I really liked it despite thinking I would hate it when I first saw it

Agree with what cathcat said that the tension just kind of crept up on you

I found the style of writing easy to follow and it just kind of flowed iyswim.

I read it pretty much in one sitting

I liked the ending as it left it to your imagination as to what happened. I thought it was very cleverly done

I doubt I'd have given this one a second glance in a bookshop but it's turned out to be my favourite from this round so far.

It is very readable, beautifully paced and demands to be read in one sitting. MH is very clever at rachetting up the tension as the story progresses.

I loved the deliberate ambiguity of the ending and found it very thought provoking that our own particular mindset filled the gap. The text seemed just as open to interpret a covert assassination attempt on the protagonist, as it did an attack on the American by fundamentalists, so I do think he succeeded in making me reflect on my own assumptions.

What a wonderful book!
I read it in two sittings and was totally swept away.

To be honest, I have had a copy at home for a while but have never read it because I thought it would be a politically complex book which I wouldn't understand. Then I got to the end and wondered if I was right - that I really hadn't understood it! Had to read the last couple of pages several times to work out if I had missed any clues (!) but then (in my mind) concluded that the American had been assassinated.

The book made me question my loyalty to my own country and whether, if threatened, I would give up a well-paid and prestigious job out of loyalty.

For some reason, I was less convinced by the character of Erica than I was by Chandez, although I did have a lot of sympathy for her situation.

Great read, thanks Wheely!

Thanks Wheely. I read this a while back but actually enjoyed it more this time round. I think I was less caught up in the story itself and able to enjoy the style and nuance more effectively.

In light of events this weekend, I think it has something really constructive to say about how public responses to events can be unhelpfully generalised, so that individuals caught on the receiving end of negative responses are pushed into positions much more negative than where they started. Yet within the narrative there are times when a seemingly small progression in his thinking crosses a boundary I stand back from and just can't follow in. How much harder would it be to distance from some of those steps when it's your own country being universally lambasted and subjected to ignorant hatred as well as legitimate concern. Really thought provoking, thanks.