LONDON, Aug 8: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Pakistan-born Mohsin Hamid is among the 13 books the judges have shortlisted for this year’s £50,000 Man Booker Prize.

According to various reviews of what has been called Hamid’s bold new novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a daring, fast-paced monologue of a young Pakistani man telling his story to a mysterious American stranger.

It’s a controversial look at the dark side of the ‘American dream’, exploring the aftermath of 9/11, international unease and the dangerous pull of nostalgia.

Mohsin Hamid was born in 1971 in Lahore, where he grew up. He attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School, worked for several years as a management consultant in New York and as a freelance journalist in Lahore, and now lives mainly in London. He published his first novel, Moth Smoke, in 2000 and The Reluctant Fundamentalist in 2007.

The book was described by the Guardian as a “cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America”. One reviewer said Hamid’s prose is filled with insight, subtly delivered.

Quoting the chair of judges, Sir Howard Davies, the Guardian on Wednesday said all the books chosen are well crafted and will appeal to a wide readership. Sir Howard is director of the London School of Economics.

Joel Rickett, deputy editor of the Bookseller, said: “I was surprised not to see Michael Ondaatje on the list, but the judges are trying to usher in a new generation of writers. The list will create more of a sense of momentum for the prize, because it’s short enough for readers to get through before the winner is announced... all authors are genuinely in the running for the biggest literary prize in the world.”

Poet Wendy Cope; Giles Foden, former deputy editor of the Guardian Saturday Review and author of The Last King of Scotland and the biographer and critic Ruth Scurr are among the judges.

The short-list will be announced on September 6 and the winner on October 16.

The long list: Nicola Barker Darkmans; Edward Docx, Self Help; Tan Twan Eng, The Gift Of Rain; Anne Enright, The Gathering; Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist; Peter Ho Davies, The Welsh Girl; Lloyd Jones, Mister Pip; Nikita Lalwani, Gifted; Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach; Catherine O’Flynn, What Was Lost; Michael Redhill, Consolation; Indra Sinha, Animal’s People; A.N. Wilson, Winnie & Wolf.