What would it feel like to have conflicting ideas about a culture that you have become attached to and immersed in? This is the situation that Changez is in in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. In the wake of the September 11th attacks Changez, a native Pakistani, begins to question his American identity more and more (even though he resides in New York). Changez's confusion he feels towards America and being an American create a rising tension between Changez and his listener. The entire story is told by Changez to an unknown American man. Mohsin Hamad has a great command of the English language. Through Hamad's writing, Changez truly comes to life. Not only can the reader identify tension within the plot and the story, but tension is obvious in the intermediate clips of Changez's conversation with his American listener.
