Erin reviewed How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
Review of 'How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia' on 'Goodreads'
I enjoyed Hamid’s Exit West, so I fully expected to enjoy this one. But I dnfed at around 60%.
Writing style I liked, even though the 2nd person was getting old. The approach felt similar to Exit West with the distance between the reader and the characters and the story vignettes.
I also liked the exploration of poverty in this setting, and I think if the story had focused on that I’d have kept going.
But then there’s “the pretty girl.” When she appeared in the story, I thought, well, I don’t love this kind of coming of age romance but she’s here and then she’s gone. But no, she comes back, and the role she plays is frustrating. She’s this damaged woman he wants to understand and keep, but she just has sex with him and keeps her distance. It seemed like we were headed toward some tragedy where …
I enjoyed Hamid’s Exit West, so I fully expected to enjoy this one. But I dnfed at around 60%.
Writing style I liked, even though the 2nd person was getting old. The approach felt similar to Exit West with the distance between the reader and the characters and the story vignettes.
I also liked the exploration of poverty in this setting, and I think if the story had focused on that I’d have kept going.
But then there’s “the pretty girl.” When she appeared in the story, I thought, well, I don’t love this kind of coming of age romance but she’s here and then she’s gone. But no, she comes back, and the role she plays is frustrating. She’s this damaged woman he wants to understand and keep, but she just has sex with him and keeps her distance. It seemed like we were headed toward some tragedy where he becomes an awful person to get rich and then some extra tragedy related to “the pretty girl” would finish it up. And I didn’t want to read that.
There’s a line between a great dramatic story and melodrama/soapyness, but it’s very subjective. This one crossed that line for me.
