“For me, writing a novel is more like digging a well than climbing a mountain - some heroic thing where I set out to conquer. I just sit quietly for a few years, and then it starts to become something.”

Pakistani novelist and essayist of the 2000s and beyond, Hamid blends fiction with social critique. His work explores globalization, class, and identity, often through layered narratives that reflect contemporary South Asian experiences. *The Reluctant Fundamentalist* and *Exit West* are among his most widely discussed novels.