Reading Response #1

Nostalgia, when taken to the extreme, can certainly be a destructive feeling. In The

Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez views nostalgia that way, and given his experiences, he is

right to do so. The negative impact of nostalgia on Changez’s life is first shown on page 71,

where he discusses his family. He says, “Nostalgia was their crack cocaine…my childhood was

littered with the consequences of their addiction.” His family refused to accept that they were no

longer wealthy; they tried to keep up with their old lifestyle when they did not have the money to

do so. This resulted in “unserviceable debts, squabbles over inheritances, the odd alcoholic or

suicide.” In Changez’s childhood, his family’s extreme nostalgia was clearly destructive, so it

makes sense that he would view it that way as he got older.

The negative effects of nostalgia can be seen in Changez’s adult life as well. This is most

clearly seen through his love interest, Erica, who is trapped in the past because she cannot move

past the death of her boyfriend, Chris. On page 113, Changez says that Erica “was disappearing

into a powerful nostalgia.” Erica spends her time dwelling on the past, and Changez watches as

she “[recedes] into her mind.” On page 112, she is so far gone that she does not notice Changez’s

hand next to hers. “A distance not greater than the width of an engagement ring” separated their

hands, but she disappeared into her nostalgia and did not even notice him.