Hamid's Novels Corpus (HNC)
Hamid's Novels Corpus This corpus contains the complete text of all five novels by acclaimed Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, compiled for research purposes as part of an M.Phil. English Linguistics thesis titled "Corpus Stylistic Analysis of Mohsin Hamid's Novels." The corpus includes the following works: Moth Smoke (2000) - Hamid's debut novel following Darashikoh Shezad, an ex-banker and heroin addict who falls for his best friend's wife, presented as a trial where the reader serves as judge. The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) - A monologue by Changez, a Pakistani man who recounts his journey from Princeton scholarship student to high-flying New York professional, and his subsequent disillusionment with the American Dream following 9/11. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (2013) - Written in the second person, this novel follows "you," a poor village boy seeking wealth while potentially falling for a pretty girl along the way. Exit West (2017) - The story of young lovers Saeed and Nadia who flee their war-torn city through mysterious black doors that allow people to instantly relocate across the globe. The Last White Man (2022) - Hamid's most recent novel about Anders, who wakes up one morning to discover his skin has turned dark, and together with his girlfriend Oona, navigates a world where this transformation begins to spread. This corpus has been developed to facilitate linguistic analysis of Hamid's distinctive narrative style, thematic concerns, and linguistic patterns across his body of work. Researchers can use this resource to examine word frequency, collocations, semantic fields, and other linguistic features that contribute to Hamid's exploration of themes such as identity, migration, class struggle, moral ambiguity, and the intersection of East and West. The corpus serves as a comprehensive linguistic resource for scholars interested in applying corpus stylistic methodologies to contemporary Pakistani literature in English, particularly focusing on how Hamid's language choices reflect and construct his narrative worlds and socio-political critiques.
