"Don't think or judge, just listen." (Sarah Dessen)

A Review of Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid:

Well, today I am going to be voicing some very bitter facts about our dear country Pakistan's culture. This voice is not really original, rather it will be a narrative of thoughts set into motion by this book I finished last week. This review is not any guide to judge any Pakistani, because every society has its share of good and bad people. If there is any index of the health of a socioeconomic system, it should be judged by the direction in which it evolves. Evolution is a continuous process which can change its course any time. And hopefully it will.

First of all, I want to say that Mohsin Hamid is a great writer. He has deep insight and strong imagination. His style of writing is unique in the use of figurative language and abstract in a thought-provoking way that appeals to the intelligence of the reader . He has laid out the causes and effects of the restlessness in Pakistani society in an apparently simple but in its meaning and implications, an intricate story. Moth Smoke is undoubtedly a masterpiece coming from an undoubtedly intelligent writer.

Aurangzeb belongs to the elite class that is quintessential for lack of conscience and their perception of themselves as being above the law. Darashikoh is from a poor family who owes his education and his job to Aurangzeb's father. They think themselves as friends but actually they have very complicated relationship. Darashikoh never quite trusted Aurangzeb. And Aurangzeb could never accept him as his equal. There is this difference of status that neither of them can ever overcome. As Darashikoh goes to visit Aurangzeb at his house and Aurangzeb offers him drinks, the writer narrates what is really going on inside his head. What he feels when visiting his friend is that he might not be able to afford that drink himself, so he should take the benefit when he can. His situation is even worsened when he meets Aurangzeb's wife Mumtaz, because he becomes conscious of his own loneliness. There is a triangle of wealth, need and friendship.

As the story progresses, we come to know that whatever his present situation may be, Darashikoh is not some idiot, illiterate farmer from some remote village but he was at one time pursuing his Ph.D and was admired by his professor. But he has fallen a victim to the uncertainty that has long been an essential feature of Pakistani society, originating from the scarcity of employment opportunities and even these scarce opportunities being provided on references regardless of merit. To survive in such a society, one has to have unwavering will power. Darashikoh, who had fortunately been helped by Aurangzeb's father, does not possess any significant sense of self-worth. He naturally hates being in need. After losing his bank job, he literally abandons looking for any other work. Instead he gradually indulges in a life of forced lethargy. He stops paying his servant and somehow he takes out his anger on him. He represents the effect of the unjust socio-economic setup that has the ability to aggravate itself by developing a psychology among the oppressed. They develop a sadistic attitude of subjecting themselves and others around them to as much misery as they can manage to inflict. Somehow, it gives them a sense of power although they do not realize that their notion of power is not any different from those they hate. This is what happens to Darashikoh. He, who was very upset about witnessing his friend Aurangzeb killing a poor boy in an hit-and-run accident, does not find it cruel to stop paying his servant or punishing him when he questions him. Slowly, he enters into drug dealing.

Mumtaz is another difficult character. She is the beautiful wife of Aurangzeb and the mother of a little boy. In the start of the novel, they appear to be a happily married couple, yet Mumtaz's behavior is queer in a way. As the story moves forward to unravel her restive personality, we come to know that she feel trapped in a marriage that was totally her own rash decision. She tries hard but fails to establish an intimate relationship with her son. From the very beginning, she is trying to find an outlet to pour out her feelings. She has an autistic and mistrustful relationship with her husband. She does not talk about her problems, rather becomes more and more secretive and starts satisfying herself with little adventures.

Their restlessness leads Mumtaz to infidelity and destruction of her relationships and Darashikoh to being accused of a crime he did not commit.

Meanwhile, Aurangzeb manages to remain largely unperturbed by the betrayal of either of them. Why? Because he is in position of power to avenge himself. In an unstable and morally degrading judicial system of Pakistan, laws are made and implemented by and for the rich. This is what  they term as "democracy". So he satisfies his ego by sending Darashikoh to prison for his own crime.

At many places in this novel, I kept recalling The White Tiger, another narrative of the society dominated by the rich.

It was a thoroughly great book.

I pointed out earlier that it was going to be an analysis of a Pakistani mind. The characters in this novel are very much representative of the thinking of some classes in our society.

The rich who deem themselves as some superior form of species, capable of doing without the law. They can run their very own, personal system of justice which is designed to serve their ego and their bank accounts.

The competent but financially mediocre, low self-esteemed people who quit trying for lack of fruitfulness of their endeavors. They tend to find easier ways of supporting themselves, which are more often than not illegal.

Those who feel indecisive and weak who cannot stand by their own choices and end up being rebellious.

The whole picture is that of discontentment and psychological degradation.

But the bright side is that: all is not yet lost. And to preserve what is left and grow from it, we have to be very strong-willed.