For those of us living and working in Rising Asia, much in this book either rings true from experience or is eye-opening about things that may be lurking just around the corner, out of sight.  Kerala is a long way from Lahore, in every sense.  But at least the basic notion–that the world has only in the last year or so become one in which a majority of us are urban dwellers for the first time in human history, and not long from now it will be a super-majority–can be felt in Raxa Collective’s back yard.  The great migration from paddy to city is noisily happening all around us each day.  What of it?

Mr. Hamid has alot to say about that, good, bad and ugly.  An interview he conducted to discuss the book can be heard in this podcast.  The book is likely to anger some, but it has received positive reviews, even from often-tough critics:

“Mr. Hamid reaffirms his place as one of his generation’s most inventive and gifted writers.” –Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“A globalized version of The Great Gatsby . . . [Hamid’s] book is nearly that good.” –Alan Cheuse, NPR

“Marvelous and moving.” –TIME Magazine

Mohsin Hamid

Mohsin Hamid’s first novel, Moth Smoke, won the Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Prize. His second, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a bestseller in the United States and abroad, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Hamid contributes toTime, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others. He lives in Lahore, Pakistan