MOTH SMOKE

My Story

• Born in Lahore, Pakistan 1971
• Lived in California while his father worked on his PhD at Stanford (3 to 9 years old)
• Moved back to Lahore where Mohsin finished his education
• Moved to the US to attend Princeton (studied under Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison)
• Graduated from Harvard Law in 1997
• Worked in NYC as a management consultant

"The book explores the idea of how you arrive at truth with conflicting narratives, which is what you do in law."

"I don't believe in 'reality' as such. What we call 'real' is something our minds create. So the whole notion of 'realism' is an interesting one. In my novels, I have tended to build seemingly 'realistic' narratives inside 'unreal' frames."

1998 Lahore, Pakistan

• Indian Independence Act 1947
• 1988-1998 Pakistan had 7 different political leaders
• Only 1% paying taxes
• East Asia Financial Crisis of 1997
• Defaulted Loans

• May 1998 India tested 5 nuclear Weapons
• Pakistan tested 6 shortly after
• China played a key role in Pakistan's nuclear weapons development
• Nuclear testing negatively impacted Pakistan's economy

Darashikoh "Daru" Shezad

-29 year old banker, his father dies when he's young, Ozi is his best friend, loses his job, becomes a drug addict, has an affair with Ozi's wife, Mumtaz, is accused of murdering a young boy

Mumtaz Kashmiri

-Wife of Ozi, mother of Muazzam, doesn't want to have a child, college educated in NYC, Journalist pen name is Zulfikar Manto, caretaker

Aurangzeb "Ozi" Kashmiri

-Best friend of Daru, husband of Mumtaz, money launderer, very wealthy and arrogant, educated in NYC, law degree, kills a young boy with his car

Murad Badshah

-"Rickshaw Fleet Captain and land Pirate", big man, Daru's dealer/supplier, convinces Daru to rob boutiques with him

• Julius Superb
• Manucci
• Fatty Chacha
• Dadi
• Khurram Shah
• Raider
• Shuja

• As a result of Ozi's friendship, Daru is acutely aware of the inequality and corruption in Pakistan's economy.
• Hamid uses metaphors such as AC, cars and kites, as well as others, to personify the divide in Pakistani society.
• Murad's opinion on the nuclear war is also used to exemplify the fight for a nuclear presence/power and its economic repercussions.

• The kite battle mentioned on pages 138-139 symbolizes Ozi and Daru's friendship and, on a much broader scale, it symbolizes the upper class' control over the poor.

"I've never been in a Pajero before. Costs more than my house and moves like a bull, powerful and single-minded" (Daru pg 24)

"We'll see who gives a damn abut shaking mountains when we can't pay for rent" (Murad Badshah pg 147)

"People are robbing the country blind...only a madman would choose to hand over his wallet rather than fill it with somebody else's cash" (Ozi pg 201)

"He's bought me my gun: a 9-millimeter automatic, black, used, Chinese" (Daru pg 242)

Characters

Themes

1. The Fragility of the Relationship between Pakistan and India

2. Economy/Divide between the rich and poor

3. Political Turmoil

2. Economy

1. Pakistan/India Relations

Mohsin Hamid

• Pakistan's relationship with India is best described through the lens of Daru and Ozi's relationship.
• The candle and the moth could symbolize the future of each country if they continue to flirt with atomic destruction.

"That's right: self-righteous Daru is a hypocrite and a menace" (Ozi pg 205)

"Do you know what happens when you detonate a nuclear bomb under the desert?...The sand turns to glass." (Mumtaz pg 131)

3. Political Turmoil

Chiba, Japan and Hakone, Japan

• The death of Daru's father could represent the lack of stable leadership in Pakistan at the time.

MOTH SMOKE

Mohsin Hamid