After this meeting he travels to Chile on an assignment. He notices she is physically emaciated and no longer her former self. Soon she begins treatment in a mental institution. Though Changez is satisfied at this development in their relationship, this irreversibly damages their relationship. But soon they go on another date, after which they have sex when Changez convinces Erica to close her eyes and fantasize that she is with Chris. After this incident there is an interlude where neither contacts each other. After a date, they return to his place and he proceeds to have sex with her, but stops because her emotional attachment to Chris prevents her from becoming aroused.

He was instantly smitten by her, but his feelings remained almost unrequited because she was still grieving over the death of her childhood sweetheart Chris, who succumbed to lung cancer. After graduating from Princeton University, he vacationed in Greece with fellow Princetonians, where he met Erica, an aspiring writer. The unnamed American is restless but remains to listen.Ĭhangez tells the American he was an excellent student who, after completing his bachelor's degree in finance, joined Underwood Samson, a consultancy firm, as an analyst. As they wait for their tea, Changez begins to weave a long story about his life, especially his time living in the United States – in between making remarks about the history, landmarks and society of Lahore, his native city which he loves and of which he is proud. A Pakistani man, Changez, offers to direct an American visitor where he can find a good cup of tea. The story begins in the streets of Lahore. A film adaptation of the novel by director Mira Nair premiered at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. A short story adapted from the novel, called 'Focus on the Fundamentals,' appeared in the fall 2006 issue of The Paris Review. The novel uses the technique of a frame story, which takes place during the course of a single evening in an outdoor Lahore cafe, where a bearded Pakistani man called Changez tells a nervous American stranger about his love affair with an American woman, and his eventual abandonment of America. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a 'metafictional' novel by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.

The reluctant fundamentalist sparknotes