Author Talk (2)

 The synopsis on the back

In Lahore, Daru Shezad is a junior banker with a hashish habit. When his old friend Ozi moves back to Pakistan, Daru wants to be happy for him. Ozi has everything: a beautiful wife and child, an expensive foreign education - and a corrupt father who bankrolls his lavish lifestyle. As jealousy sets in, Daru's life slowly unravels. He loses his job. Starts lacing his joints with heroin. Becomes involved with a criminally-minded rickshaw driver. And falls in love with Ozi's lonely wife. But how low can Daru sink? Is he guilty of the crime he finds himself on trial for?

I'll be frank, I wasn't very happy considering reading Moth Smoke. I was extremely apprehensive, in fact. Books about drugs, corruption and adultery are not my cup of tea. I do NOT like skimming through books. I do NOT like extra, unnecessary words.

This book is NOT one of them. Hamid displays a pattern here. His books are eccentric, hard to catch up with and makes you read on despite digressing themes.

Daru's father was close with Ozi's corrupt civil servant father before he died. Therefore, both grow up with a certain degree of luxury and are very close to each other until of course Ozi gets the most cherished thing in any developed country: a foreign degree. Despite getting better SAT scores and grades, Daru remains in Pakistan and life goes nowhere.

In a country where bank jobs are merely a trade off between the monthly salary and the rich family accounts brought in by the employee, Daru is truly in a soup when he recklessly loses his job (got by Ozi's father) at the bank when he fails to cozy up to a client.

Then begins a steep downward coaster ride with Daru losing his job, doing drugs, selling drugs, sleeping around with his best friend's wife and even armed robbery.

The main thing about this book was its central theme to moth smoke. It doesn't show itself to me until about halfway into the book.

That’s an ugly moth,’ I say.
I wait for Manucci’s response, but he says nothing.
The moth doesn't move.
‘He’s afraid,’ Manucci says.
‘He should be. Love’s a dangerous thing.’ I look carefully. Dark streaks run down the moth’s folded wings. ‘Maybe he’s burnt himself.

The moth takes off again, and we both step back, because he’s circling at eye level now and seems to have lost rudder control, smacking into the wall on each round. He circles lower and lower, spinning around the candle in tighter revolutions, like a soap sud over an open drain. A few times he seems to touch the flame, but dances off unhurt.Then he ignites like a ball of hair, curling into an oily puff of fumes with a hiss. The candle flame flickers and dims for a moment, then burns as bright as before.Moth smoke lingers.

From here on Daru is like a moth to the fire that is his pal's wife. It has a deeper meaning suggesting Pakistan's self destruction in the late 90s and also creates an Urdu literature like image in my head that is truly unique and differs itself from other literature in the subcontinent.

This book is filled with uncertainty at all times. Through Daru's fall from society, Hamid seeks to explore the complexities and corruption of Pakistan's late 90s society. It is not a flattering picture and gives you an air of reality by the lack of any moral stance by Hamid. Daru is a victim of circumstance, but is also capable of cruelty, hypocrisy and poor decisions. His pride takes a beating when his rich friends find out that he has stooped to the level of a drug dealer. His frustration is evident that the only way into Ozi's world is money.

Though the book involves much of Pakistan, it is simply a backdrop. The real story here is the smoke, the Moth Smoke. This is a story about love, betrayal, crime and punishment.

This book rants on, digresses and somehow manages to keep the reader interested. Though not perfect, Hamid's first book, the portrayal of corrupt Pakistan in the 90 s is much like the portrayal of the corrupt neighbor India by another debutante Arvind Adiga's Man Booker Prize winning book The White Tiger. Though cynical, it isn't implausible and mirrors How to Become Filthy Rich in Rising Asia in many ways. Just like How to become filthy rich in Rising Asia this book hasn't sunk in yet, but with interesting and thought provoking comparisons and a witty script it has caught my attention. All in all, a powerful read.