by Mohsin Hamid
First published 2000
Handsome banker Daru has it all - a plush Lahore apartment, a fast-rising career, and the wife of his best friend Ozi as his mistress. But when Daru loses his job and Ozi's wife becomes pregnant, his carefully constructed world begins to crumble. Adrift and broke, Daru spirals into drug addiction as he tries to hold onto his lover and the high life he's always known. With his future slipping away, Daru must decide whether to leave it all behind or find a way to reclaim his charmed existence.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: downward-spiral, falling-from-grace
Setting: Pakistan, Lahore
320 pages · Paperback · Penguin
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use