Hospitable Stranger: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid

This book feels like it's over in an instant. It's quick, easy, charming, and familiar- A young man named Changez arrives in New York City full of hope and ambition. He finds success, but then realizes that his new life goes against a set of values that he hadn't necessarily realized he had and, older and more self-aware, he returns home. That's the story in a nutshell, but what really makes it interesting is author Moshin Hamid's impeccably-managed framing device. Changez tells his story- politely, matter-of-factly- on the patio of a restaurant in Pakistan where he is treating an American stranger whom he has just met to dinner. Because he's addressing this single listener, Changez tells his story using second person narration, using again and again the awkward "you," and making the reader feel as though he/she is being addressed directly.

The climax of Changez's story occurs when he describes watching the twin towers collapse on television, and he admits that his reaction was to smile. The entire book pivots on this smile. It's what inspires Changez to return to his family in Pakistan, and it's what makes his situation with this nameless and already slightly uncomfortable American even more chilling. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was nominated for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, and was also named best novel of the year by Now Magazine.