Thursday – 8/27 – H.M. Naqvi Author of Home Boy

THURSDAY AUGUST 27, 7pm – FICTION
H.M. NAQVI
Author of HOME BOY ($23.00 Crown)

Naqvi’s debut novel introduces Chuck, a 20-something Pakistani living in New York and one of the most engaging protagonists to come along in a while. After moving from Karachi to attend NYU, Chuck readily adapts to the customs of his new home-especially those involving alcohol, cocaine and skirt chasing-but he’s not the average drunk college kid: he and his friends, AC and Jimbo, are like a Pakistani-American version of the Three Musketeers-in their own eyes, “boulevardiers, raconteurs, renaissance men.” After graduating, Chuck lands a job as an investment banker (his mother’s idea), and after a good run, he’s fired during a brief economic downturn. Shortly thereafter, his former office building, 7 World Trade Center, is the third building to go down on 9/11. Suddenly, the act of the debonair dandy is a little harder to pull off: with no job, little money, and the rapidly increasing hostility of Americans towards all things Muslim, Chuck struggles to make sense of his newfound status as an outsider. Naqvi’s fast-paced plot, foul-mouthed erudition and pitch-perfect dialogue make for a stellar debut. Beautifully written, sharply observed, and very funny, Home Boy is a heartbreaking story of a young immigrant’s romance with America.

H. M. NAQVI taught creative writing at Boston University. He divides his time between Pakistan and the United States.