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kingabee's review against another edition
5.0
Penguin has released a new edition of Mohsin Hamid’s debut novel Moth Smoke with a slightly misleading cover. At first glance it seems that there is a couple against the sunset reaching out for each other. Excuse me while I cringe. It’s only when you take a closer look that you realise they have rather jaded expressions on their faces and they are not actually reaching for each other; she is passing a joint to him. Now, this corresponds with the book better. It’s a novel about Pakistan in the 90s, about those who, thanks to corruption and connections, found themselves at the top of the food chain, and those who got left behind. It is also about sex, drugs and air-conditioning.
The first chapter shows us a glimpse of a prison cell, and in the following one I found myself in a position of the judge. The second-person narrative makes it clear that I am about to rule guilty or not in the defendant’s case. As many over-worked judges out there, I seem to not have had the time to read the dossier and hoped that the testimonies will be enough for me to pass a verdict. It’s finally with the third chapter that the Dramatis personæ are fully introduced. We meet outrageously rich Ozi and his beautiful new wife Mumtaz and his not rich and definitely wifeless best friend, whom Ozi has just reconnected with after returning to Pakistan from the US. With a dangerous triangle set up like this, trouble is almost certain to follow.
Jorge Luis Borges said once “I found that really good metaphors are always the same […] you compare time to a road, death to sleeping, life to dreaming, and those are the great metaphors in literature because they correspond to something essential.” Mohsin takes from that school of thought when he implements his ‘moth and candle’ metaphor, admittedly not the most original way of implying self-destructive behaviour. Yet, it is done brilliantly. Moths, apparently, get confused with artificial sources of light like light bulbs or candles and while trying to correct their flight trajectory end up spiralling around closer and closer to the light source eventually bringing their own downfall upon themselves.
In short, this is what the book does, it spirals around the centre that we know is there but we haven’t touched yet. Also, it is of course a metaphor for the decline of the characters, and maybe even the country.
Reading Moth Smoke is a little like watching a train wreck, if you excuse this cheap simile (I am from Borges’ school of thought as well). The smoke and smell of something burning permeate the pages and with each chapter it is harder to see who is right and who is wrong. So when the judgment moment comes you are likely to end up with a hung jury. I know I did.
(I published it originall on www.bookmunch.wordpress.com)
The first chapter shows us a glimpse of a prison cell, and in the following one I found myself in a position of the judge. The second-person narrative makes it clear that I am about to rule guilty or not in the defendant’s case. As many over-worked judges out there, I seem to not have had the time to read the dossier and hoped that the testimonies will be enough for me to pass a verdict. It’s finally with the third chapter that the Dramatis personæ are fully introduced. We meet outrageously rich Ozi and his beautiful new wife Mumtaz and his not rich and definitely wifeless best friend, whom Ozi has just reconnected with after returning to Pakistan from the US. With a dangerous triangle set up like this, trouble is almost certain to follow.
Jorge Luis Borges said once “I found that really good metaphors are always the same […] you compare time to a road, death to sleeping, life to dreaming, and those are the great metaphors in literature because they correspond to something essential.” Mohsin takes from that school of thought when he implements his ‘moth and candle’ metaphor, admittedly not the most original way of implying self-destructive behaviour. Yet, it is done brilliantly. Moths, apparently, get confused with artificial sources of light like light bulbs or candles and while trying to correct their flight trajectory end up spiralling around closer and closer to the light source eventually bringing their own downfall upon themselves.
In short, this is what the book does, it spirals around the centre that we know is there but we haven’t touched yet. Also, it is of course a metaphor for the decline of the characters, and maybe even the country.
Reading Moth Smoke is a little like watching a train wreck, if you excuse this cheap simile (I am from Borges’ school of thought as well). The smoke and smell of something burning permeate the pages and with each chapter it is harder to see who is right and who is wrong. So when the judgment moment comes you are likely to end up with a hung jury. I know I did.
(I published it originall on www.bookmunch.wordpress.com)
dangg140's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
masoomeyjaffery's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"Moth Smoke" is both humorous and sardonic. It tackles both our own hubris and that which is born from being of privilege and having society and those we look up to reinforce those ideas.
taking place among an elite group of Pakistani 20 somethings it follows three friends in a multiple narrative story structured around a criminal trial. each character has such a distinctive voice, the writing style engaging a vast array of all rather self important and indulgent attitudes. While each of the characters is gray at best to humans you want to knock some sense into, you can't help but be caught up in their frivolity in some cases and stark honesty about their own faults in others.
A really enjoyable read, but one that also has a gravity as it tackles some painful truths. Even if those who take a fall aren't completely innocent, it is difficult not to see that there is a level of unfairness to what fates befall which people.
taking place among an elite group of Pakistani 20 somethings it follows three friends in a multiple narrative story structured around a criminal trial. each character has such a distinctive voice, the writing style engaging a vast array of all rather self important and indulgent attitudes. While each of the characters is gray at best to humans you want to knock some sense into, you can't help but be caught up in their frivolity in some cases and stark honesty about their own faults in others.
A really enjoyable read, but one that also has a gravity as it tackles some painful truths. Even if those who take a fall aren't completely innocent, it is difficult not to see that there is a level of unfairness to what fates befall which people.
hmmclean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
My husband is from Pakistan, so when I first heard about this novel, I had to read it as I had never read any Pakistani literature.
The story takes place in Lahore and is about a young Pakistani man, Daru. He is on the bottom-most tier of the young elite in Lahore... he doesn't have as much money or power as his friends. In fact most of what he has, he owes to his childhood friend Ozi's family. After Daru gets fired from his job he begins a downward spiral of drugs, crime and betrayal.
The story takes place in Lahore and is about a young Pakistani man, Daru. He is on the bottom-most tier of the young elite in Lahore... he doesn't have as much money or power as his friends. In fact most of what he has, he owes to his childhood friend Ozi's family. After Daru gets fired from his job he begins a downward spiral of drugs, crime and betrayal.
aljavi's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
lottie1803's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jadeyen's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An impressive debut from Hamid. Loved the intersection of Mughal lore, Pakistan, and very modern issues— all while painting the growing pains of a country/middle class in “development” and the anxieties alongside— showing both the beauties and terrors. I liked the chapter set up and the cast of complex characters and their even more layered relationships with each other and their shifting contexts.
I wish it touched more on the lore and the nuclear tests— and the impact of the sanctions and geopolitics felt by every day citizens. Also, sometimes I felt like the story opened an interesting line of inquiry just to not be followed up or perhaps earned.
Maybe a good companion piece to Yang’s Taipei Story.
I wish it touched more on the lore and the nuclear tests— and the impact of the sanctions and geopolitics felt by every day citizens. Also, sometimes I felt like the story opened an interesting line of inquiry just to not be followed up or perhaps earned.
Maybe a good companion piece to Yang’s Taipei Story.