How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: A Novel"Mr. Hamid reaffirms his place as one of his generation's most inventive and gifted writers." –Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "A globalized version of The Great Gatsby . . . [Hamid's] book is nearly that good." –Alan Cheuse, NPR "Marvelous and moving." –TIME Magazine From the internationally bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West, the boldly imagined tale of a poor boy’s quest for wealth and love His first two novels established Mohsin Hamid as a radically inventive storyteller with his finger on the world’s pulse. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia meets that reputation—and exceeds it. The astonishing and riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over “rising Asia.” It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a striking slice of contemporary life at a time of crushing upheaval. Romantic without being sentimental, political without being didactic, and spiritual without being religious, it brings an unflinching gaze to the violence and hope it depicts. And it creates two unforgettable characters who find moments of transcendent intimacy in the midst of shattering change. |
Contents
AVOID IDEALISTS | |
WORK FOR YOURSELF | |
BEFRIEND A BUREAUCRAT | |
DANCE WITH DEBT | |
HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY | |
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analgesic aquifer asks assault rifles assistant become bicycle billboard bodybuilder bottle boutique brigadier brother bureaucrat calm air cash CCTV chest cigarette city’s courtyard despite doctor door drive electricity entirely ex-wife EXIT STRATEGY eyes face factotum father feel film fingers frightened gaze getting filthy rich girl’s gone guard hair hand head inside leader lean leave lives looks luxury SUV master matriarch meeting mother mother’s motorcycle movie neighborhood never night painter’s pair pass perhaps pretty girl radiotherapy rich in rising ride rising Asia salon says seen self-help book shawl siblings sister sleep smile smoke speak squat stares street tells There’s things thyroid turn village waiting walk watch water buffalo We’ll We’re wealth week what’s wife wife’s window woman You’re young