Moth Smoke is the debut novel by British Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid, published in 2000.
Synopsis
Darashikoh, or Daru as he is referred to, is a mid-level banker with a short fuse. His aggression had served him well as a college-boxer but an out-of-character outburst gets him fired. The loss of income brings a widening gap between him and his classmates, and Daru exposes his bitterness to the wealthy in his commentary. This contrast in income, though present through their years at school becomes evident to Daru only now as he realizes that money and wealth mean more than his personal traits can offer.
He is content to interact with his rich friends all the same, and finds comfort in the arms of Mumtaz – Daru's best friend's wife. Mumtaz falls for Daru too, but unlike Daru, she is not an idealist. This mismatch of thought comes to the forefront soon after the long and rocky affair begins. While cuckolding his best friend, Daru is content to sell him drugs, which are socially acceptable among his friends. This life of duplicity leads to a spiralling loss of control in his life.
Reception
In a highly positive review for
The New York Times,
Jhumpa Lahiri compared Hamid to F. Scott Fitzgerald for depicting the "slippery ties between the extremely wealthy and those who hover, and generally stumble, in money’s glare".
In
The New York Review of Books,
Anita Desai noted: "One could not really continue to write, or read about, the slow seasonal changes, the rural backwaters, gossipy courtyards, and traditional families in a world taken over by gun-running, drug-trafficking, large-scale industrialism, commercial entrepreneurship, tourism, new money, nightclubs, boutiques... Where was the
Aldous Huxley, the
George Orwell, the Scott Fitzgerald, or even the
Tom Wolfe,
Jay McInerney, or Brett Easton Ellis to record this new world? Mohsin Hamid's novel
Moth Smoke, set in Lahore, is one of the first pictures we have of that world."
Awards and nominations
The novel won a Betty Trask Award,
was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award,
and was a
New York Times Notable Book of The Year.
Adaptations
The book was adapted into the 2002 Pakistani film,
Daira (which translates to "circle" in
Urdu). It was directed by Azfar Ali and stars Pakistani actor
Shahzad Nawaz.
A
Hindi version was planned to be directed by
Rahul Bose but could not materialise due to financial constraints.
External links
General
Reviews
