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This title in other formats:

Moth Smoke

by Mohsin Hamid

Moth Smoke Cover

ISBN13: 9780312273231
ISBN10: 0312273231
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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.

Review:

"Hamid's tale, played out against the background of Pakistan's recent testing of a nuclear device, creates a powerful image of an insecure society toying with its own dissolution." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"Moving quickly but inviting prolonged retrospection, this first novel lays bare a human core that festers in its own unremitting heat. Hamid is a writer to watch." Library Journal

Review:

"It's Hamid's achievement that we remained charmed by Daru throughout; the fast paced, intelligent narration pulls us, despite ourselves, into his spiralling wake." New Yorker

Review:

"[A] brisk, absorbing novel...Hamid steers us from start to finish with assurance and care." Jhumpa Lahiri, The New York Times Book Review

Synopsis:

When Daru Shezad gets himself fired from his banking job, he instantly removes himself from the ranks of Pakistan's cellphone-toting elite and sets in motion the tragicomedy that will drag him into a life of drugs and crime. His uncertain fate mirrors that of Pakistan itself, animated by nuclear weapons and sapped by corruption.

About the Author

Mohsin Hamid grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. His work has appeared in The New York Times. He currently lives in New York City.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
chirping_sparrow7, July 16, 2008 (view all comments by chirping_sparrow7)
Mr.Hamid's book is a bit confusing; Whom Daru killed or not killed- the son of Mumtaz or the boy yelling in Bank? I think the story also throws light on child development because Daru didn't like when Ozi's father used to touch Daru's mother and this developed a sort of revenge attitude in him. He availaed the chance in form of Mumtaz.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780312273231
Author:
Hamid, Mohsin
Publisher:
Picador USA
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Young men
Subject:
Pakistan
Subject:
Crime
Subject:
General Fiction
Edition Number:
1st Picador USA ed.
Edition Description:
First
Series Volume:
106-971
Publication Date:
February 2001
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
256
Dimensions:
8.30x5.48x.71 in. .52 lbs.

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