The two classes prepared for Mohsin’s visit by reading his work, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), which tells the tale of a Pakistani man’s life journey, including his love affair with an American woman, and his eventual abandonment of America, all detailed throughout his conversation with an American tourist in Pakistan.

Mohsin spoke to the students for an hour, first discussing his background, education at Princeton and Harvard Law School, his work as a consultant, and how he eventually began writing full-time. 

In addition, Mohsin fielded questions from the students on specific aspects of the novel, the role of the writer, the function of reading and the centrality of the imagination, the impact of 9/11 on Muslims, Islamophobia, and cross-cultural differences.