Allyson Hallman: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

     I think the movie does a better job of communicating the theme of fundamentalism than the book, but that's pretty much the only part I liked about it in comparison to the book. In the movie, we repeatedly hear various characters talk to Changez about the fundamentals, and later on, after he's already heard it once or twice, he flashes back to the very first time Jim says it at Underwood Samson, which ties it all together for the viewers. I was kind of lost throughout the book as to why Hamid chose that specific title--even after reading the line where Jim says it at Underwood Samson--and I don't think the book really focused on the fundamentals as much as the movie until the very end.

     As far as general differences go, I think I would have enjoyed the movie more if I had watched it as a stand-alone movie, without having read the novel first. The entire time I was watching it, I just kept getting more and more angry at the parts that were completely changed or left out. I get that the way in which the book was written isn't exactly conducive to making a fantastic, two-hour long Hollywood movie, so I understand taking advantage of that and expanding the plot. But to me, if the production crew is going to do that, they should at least leave some of the not-so-minor details intact.

     For example, they entirely changed Erica's character. Book Erica was so broken and such a prominent figure in Changez's life, but Movie Erica was a much weaker character that had a lot to be desired. (Basically the opposite of how the Harry Potter directors portrayed Movie Ginny as a much weaker character than Book Ginny.) Movie Erica made closure with Changez by actually making a point to see him one last time and sort of say goodbye, whereas Book Erica just dropped off the planet and left Changez in the dark, which leads him to return to Pakistan. Similarly, Movie Changez was way more arrogant/confident than Book Changez. The latter never would have screamed at Erica like Movie Changez did, no matter how much she infuriated him.

     Overall, I was really displeased with how they adapted the book to the big screen; at the same time, I understand why they changed certain things because if they stayed 100% faithful to the book, I would have been bored. The question Movie Changez poses to his class about the Pakistani dream did catch my attention, and I wished it had been included in the book, especially so that we could hear more of Changez's thoughts on that topic.