Discontent and its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York, and London

Great read. Learnt so much from the author Mohsin Hamid. He is a great writer.

Hamid is one of my favorite Fiction writers. His use of second person is true magic. His essays are solid and I recommend the book, but I eagerly await his next work of Fiction.

It's a good book to read on post 9/11 Pakistan. The author does a good job of explaining Pakistan--and it's especially important coming from a Pakistani. One of the thing highlighted in these articles is the growing violence against minorities in Pakistan. At the same time there is increasing suspicion and discrimination against minorities in the West.

This is a series of short essays, and the essay is a living art. Hamid is a clear and interesting writer. Not a great writer (in this non-fiction). A decent writer.My first quibble is that this is a curated collection. In the introduction, Hamid notes that his off-point, mistaken, embarrassing essays were not included. I understand this; what writer wants to preserve the mistakes? But for a social commentator, such editing lends to a false depiction of percipience -- you come away thinking "this is one smart guy" rather than "this guy sometimes connects, and sometimes misses".Second, some of his pieces read like small town op-eds about nothing -- pizza delivery in London, sensual sweat, etc.That said, the range here is pretty good; sections on life, art, politics... travel for a Pakistani, the global world of television, novels, and writing. This is a cosmopolitan person, moving from Lahore to New York to London, one of the articulate elite, and the tone conveys both a sense of humor and sharp eyed cultural awareness.When he talks about being a global traveler, it is a bit precious, but he is Pakistani, and does face barriers. When he talks about Pakistan's political woes, he is more interesting. If these pieces appeared in your local newspaper, you would say "interesting" and read them second, after the news.This is a good airport book, and after reading this, his novels might be a better place to meet this writer...

Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani who lived for many years in Lahore Pakistan, NYC, and London. Novelist and political commentator, he provides a unique perspective as he explains Pakistan to Americans, and illuminates Pakistani attitudes toward the United States. In this collection of brief essays written between 2000 and 2014, Hamid also sought to effectively bridge the U.S./Pakistan divide by presenting suggestions for a path of action which would increase understanding and cooperation between the peoples of these two countries.Hamid divided this very readable anthology of brief articles into three sections - Life (with subjects including "Avatar in Lahore" and "On Fatherhood"), Art (with subjects including "How do E-Book s Changes the Reading Experience?" and "My Reluctant Fundamentalist") and Politics - the latter encompassing nearly half of this small, 225 page book, and providing the most substantial insight.Pakistan is less than 1/12 the geographical area of the United States, but has almost 2/3 of the population that the U.S. has. The alliance between the U.S. and Pakistani military has resulted in undue hardship for millions of ordinary Pakistani citizens, increasing the casualty rate and homelessness resulting from terrorism/counter-terrorism attacks. The lack of a clearly defined border between Pakistan and Afghanistan contributes to the problem; the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir also feeds Pakistani instability and violence.Hamid's political articles - written in a fairly informal, almost conversational style - illuminate the highly diverse, contradictory facets of Pakistan. Referring to the "doublethink" concept of Orwell's 1984, Hamid explains that Pakistan has doublethink attitudes toward America ("America is our enemy; America should give us more aid") and toward religion ("Religion makes us all equal; only I decide what religion says." Hamid's articles, "Why They Get Pakistan Wrong," "Why Drones Don't Help," and "Nationalism Should Retire at Sixty Five," are the most enlightening."By backing the Northern Alliance against the Taliban then failing to include a meaningful representation of Pashtuns," Hamid tell us, "the U.S. not only sided with India in the Indian-Pakistani proxy war in Afghanistan, it also elevated a coalition of Afghanistan's smaller ethnicities above its largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns. Conflict was inevitable.""Pakistan is a place of competing and overlapping clans, sects, tribes, beliefs and practices," Hamid says, while referring to the thesis of a book that he recommends, PAKISTAN: A HARD COUNTRY by Anatal Lieven. To cope with its chaotic diversity and contradictions, Pakistan relies on a number of both institutional and non-institutional structures, which are at times rigid, and at other times, resilient. Barely 65 years old, and with an unstable history, it is a country in which family, religious and tribal identifications have been strong and often fiercely held."We need to begin to dismantle the chauvinisms we have built....and think about a morality that is bigger than Pakistan or India or even China -" Hamid tells us, " - a morality that dares to be at least Asian in scale, and....ready to progress to something even larger, to the scale of humanity."

Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani author with Western sensibilities, of unique distinction, who writes with flair and originality. He provides insight into the east/west consciousness, and a window into the soul of Pakistani society. He writes with seriousness, that has a tone of underlying humor.

Hamid's writing style is captivating. A great look into post-9/11 Pakistan. Great book.

Book just as described. Very fast despatch and receipt

A set of writings of the author about his life and the history os his country of origin, Pakistán! It is a good historical introduction!

I loved every bit of this, what an amaing and informative book!

Beautiful book - must read

Outstanding book. A must read book.