Writers of Color 50 Books Challenge

Ah, that's interesting; I thought of the narrator as unreliable too, but what you took to be his honest moments were IMO the dishonest ones, and vice versa! I think the writer- Hamid- did intend for your interpretation, though. So insofar as a writer's intention makes the 'truth' in a work, I think you're probably right. But to me the whole thing was a play put on, by the author and by his character, which is what a fictional narrative is, of course, but I thought the fact that it was a play was too evident, and that it wasn't intended to be evident. I really, really liked the idea of the novel; it was ambitious to say the least, very pertinent and very, very fascinating, but I think a better novelist, or even Hamid if he tried again, could execute it better.

I didn't dislike the protagonist's effort to present his story in a way that he believed would be more ... palatable to his audience, or allow said audience to take him more seriously; I thought the dichotomy was maintained well enough, between his emotional outbursts and his anxiety to hide the outbursts; I simply didn't think the outbursts themselves were real; do you know what I mean?

PS: I have to admit I read the novel months ago, so I'm commenting from memory, of the book and my own reactions to it. I can't point out exactly what words or moments made me think such-and-such thing; I'm sorry!