The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of a young man, named Changez, who tells the story of his life during a late-night conversation with an unnamed American man. The story is set in a bar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Changez's words are engaging and articulate, as he talks about his life as a Pakistani in a suspicious world, altered by terrorism. The novel is short, as the narrative is a constant, almost one-sided conversation over the course of one night. The reader is addressed as “you” as Changez addresses the anonymous American as such. With this strategy, the reader assumes the persona of the American gentleman who is assumed to be a secret agent or businessman, although his intentions and reasons for being in Lahore are never made clear. Over cups of tea, snacks and an evening meal, the American and Changez seem to bond, over Changez's life during the years he lived in America. The novel is interspersed almost constantly with snapshots of Lahore life, of the comings and goings of people through the tearoom and the street outside. Changez tells the story of how he came to America as an international student at Princeton University, where he studied for a degree in Economics and graduated with honors, near the top of his class. Changez becomes a successful valuation consultant at leading valuation firm Underwood Samson. During a celebratory vacation in Greece, Changez meets and falls in love with a young girl named Erica. Erica, however, is still mourning the loss of her longtime boyfriend Chris, who died of lung cancer a year earlier. Returning to New York, Changez adjusts to work life and works with enthusiasm, far above the other interns, while remaining close friends with Erica, visiting...... middle of paper... her job at Underwood Samson . After being fired from his job, Changez is forced to leave America and returns to his home in Lahore, where he meets the anonymous American. As the evening draws to a close, Changez offers to take you to "your" hotel. Along the way he explains that he is now a senior lecturer at a local university in Lahore, and has become a mentor to his more politically minded students, some of whom have been implicated in the recent political riots and violence. During the walk it becomes apparent that the two men have been followed by a group of men from the bar, and Changez appears to be involved in a conspiracy with them. The novel ends ambiguously, with the American searching for something in his jacket, perhaps a business card, as Changez suggests, or perhaps a gun with which to kill Changez. It is then up to the reader to decide which one it is.