Book Review: A Child of the New Millennium
Handling too much in too little time
Fatima Zubair must be the intellectual of her classroom, but has missed the magic when it comes to the real world. Concepts learned in the classroom may seem pretty straightforward, but in reality are much more complicated. But it’s not her fault; this book only represents the thousands of other youth like her who, when they try to get mature in their thinking, make lots of mistakes. The book ‘A Child of the New Millennium’ tries to handle too much in too little time. It only reveals how a common youth in Pakistan thinks he has got it all figured out, when he has figured nothing.
Apart from being a random collection of essays, it talks primarily in abstract lingo without giving much real-life examples. If this was an attempt to show how much knowledge the author possesses, then it comes out nothing as a hodge-podge of classroom essays. From local politics to international politics, from social issues to family matters, from media to energy matters, you name it and she has written something about it. She tries to rescue the youth of Pakistan from their state of despondency and instil in them a new beacon of hope by posing some very simple solutions, but fails to mention the process. However, she does give some very useful insights when it comes to how the Pakistani youth are reacting to the onslaught of globalisation, how a common man is trying to find balance between his religiosity and a modern secular lifestyle, and how the Internet is being viewed and used by the majority of the Pakistani people. She also chips in a few interesting research studies like the post-conflict protection of women and the necessity of small business enterprise and development in Pakistan.
Apart from being a random collection of essays, it talks primarily in abstract lingo without giving much real-life examples. If this was an attempt to show how much knowledge the author possesses, then it comes out nothing as a hodge-podge of classroom essays
But people do their PhD’s trying to figure out the solution to a given cultural, social or political problem; and she claims to have the answer to not one, but all of them. Why does a common youth of Pakistan not focus on one issue alone? Because he does not have detailed knowledge about anything, but only has little knowledge about everything. So he tries to show how much knowledge he has by the number of topics he can make a few informed statements about. And her ‘Essays on English Literature’ right at the end seemed pointless to be included in a book about politics, society and current affairs. Having said all this, there is no doubt that Fatima Zubair is a talented writer, and while this book may be reminiscent of her student years, it is expected that she will come out with much greater force as she matures in her thinking.
It’s surprising, if not doubtful, that despite all this, the book has received praise from the likes of Harvard University. Perhaps this is the only thing that intrigues a reader, to know whether the book really is worth such praise. Maybe, if you’re looking for a book on ‘College Essays’ to improve your English and argumentative skills, you will find this book much useful.
A Child of the New Millennium
Written by: Fatima Zubair
Publisher: Maktaba Jadeed, Lahore
Pages: 330; Price: Rs500
