How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

I’ve been gradually making my way through Moshin Hamid’s books, and this one might be my favorite. Told in the second person, the novel is crafted like a self-help book—a sly nod to the business advice books instructing young people across contemporary Asia.

It tells the story of an unnamed narrator and his rise from a poor, rural kid to a successful entrepreneur. It’s an emotional wallop of a book, as the protagonist hustles and hustles, growing further from his past while still being haunted by it.

Hamid’s books always sneak up on me with their clever heft; he does… show more.

Hamid’s prose is sparkling, reflecting his experience of globalization, as a Princeton-trained native of Pakistan who lives in Lahore, New York, and London.

Framed as a self-help book and narrated in twelve short chapters with self-help titles like “work for yourself,” this novel follows the life story of one man in a country that sounds a lot like Pakistan, as he moves from the village to the city and tries to make it in business.

I loved Hamid’s vivid portrait of challenging daily living conditions in a developing country, including unclean water, stifling rural life, urban overcrowding, and corrupt bureaucrats.… show more.