Moth Smoke
Pakistan

Moth Smoke

by Mohsin Hamid

Society & Class Literary Fiction Fiction 2000

Summary

Set in Lahore during the sweltering summer of 1998, against the backdrop of Pakistan’s first nuclear tests, Moth Smoke follows Darashikoh “Daru” Shezad, a young banker whose carefully constructed life begins to collapse after he loses his job. Suddenly unable to maintain his place among the city’s privileged elite, Daru watches as his childhood friend Ozi returns from America with a wealthy lifestyle, a beautiful wife, and a future that seems increasingly out of reach. Daru becomes obsessed with Ozi’s wife, Mumtaz, a restless woman who secretly works as an investigative journalist, and their attraction draws him into a dangerous spiral of drugs, crime, and self-destruction. Told through shifting perspectives, courtroom testimonies, and the voices of those who know him, the novel gradually reveals the contradictions of its troubled protagonist. Beyond Daru’s personal downfall, Hamid paints a vivid portrait of a society divided by wealth, corruption, and inherited privilege. Like moths drawn irresistibly toward a flame, the characters pursue desires that may ultimately destroy them. Moth Smoke is a sharp, darkly humorous exploration of ambition, inequality, and moral collapse in a rapidly changing Pakistan.

Reviews

Login to leave a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first!

You might also like

The Museum Detective
The Museum Detective
Maha Khan Phillips
Street Fighting Years
Street Fighting Years
Tariq Ali
You Can’t Please All
You Can’t Please All
Tariq Ali
Night of the Golden Butterfly (The Islam Quintet)
Night of the Golden Butterfly (The Islam Quintet)
Tariq Ali
Country
Pakistan
Asia
About the author
Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid

Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani-British novelist and essayist born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1971. He spent part of his childhood in the United States before returning to Pakistan and later studying at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. His life across different countries has shaped his exploration of migration, identity, globalization, and the shifting boundaries between home and belonging. Hamid gained international recognition with Moth Smoke (2000), a novel about class divisions and corruption in contemporary Lahore. His subsequent works include The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), which examines identity and suspicion in the aftermath of September 11, and Exit West (2017), a speculative novel about two lovers fleeing their country through mysterious doors that transport people across borders. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Exit West explores displacement, love, and the human consequences of migration. Hamid’s fiction combines political insight with experimental storytelling, questioning how individuals navigate a world shaped by inequality, cultural change, and global movement.

View author page
Details
Published
2000
Author
Mohsin Hamid