Preview
  • How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

  • A Novel
  • By: Mohsin Hamid
  • Narrated by: Mohsin Hamid
  • Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,193 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

By: Mohsin Hamid
Narrated by: Mohsin Hamid
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the internationally best-selling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the boldly imagined tale of a poor boy's quest for wealth and love.

His first two novels established Mohsin Hamid as a radically inventive storyteller with his finger on the world's pulse. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia meets that reputation - and exceeds it. The astonishing and riveting tale of a man's journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over "rising Asia". It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a striking slice of contemporary life at a time of crushing upheaval. Romantic without being sentimental, political without being didactic, and spiritual without being religious, it brings an unflinching gaze to the violence and hope it depicts. And it creates two unforgettable characters who find moments of transcendent intimacy in the midst of shattering change.

©2013 Mohsin Hamid (P)2013 Penguin Audiobooks
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

A Foreign Policy Leading Global Thinker

Shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Named a Best or Notable Book of 2013 by The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Chicago Tribune, Vogue, Apple, The Observer (London), The Sunday Times (London), Financial Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, Kansas City Star, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews

A Vogue "Favorite Novelist"

“It is a measure of Mr. Hamid’s audacious talents that he manages to make his protagonist’s story work on so many levels. ‘You’ is, at once, a modern-day Horatio Alger, representing the desires and frustrations of millions in rising Asia; a bildungsroman hero, by turns knavish and recognizably human, who sallies forth from the provinces to find his destiny; and a nameless but intimately known soul, whose bittersweet romance with the pretty girl possesses a remarkable emotional power. With How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia Mr. Hamid reaffirms his place as one of his generation’s most inventive and gifted writers.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“Thanks to Hamid's meticulous use of detail - and his sympathy for a man on the make in a society of endemic poverty - we engage deeply with a serious character whose essence remains his own yet who stands as a figure representative of his time and place, an effect only the best novelists can create.... This tale of an unscrupulous striver may bring to mind a globalized version of The Great Gatsby. Given the unabashed gimmickry of Hamid's how-to design, it's a pleasant surprise to find that his book is nearly that good.” (Alan Cheuse, NPR)

"A love story and bildungsroman disguised as a self-help book, and the result has all the inventiveness, exuberance and pathos that the writer's fans have come to expect.... Marvelous and moving." (Time Magazine)

What listeners say about How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    684
  • 4 Stars
    320
  • 3 Stars
    119
  • 2 Stars
    44
  • 1 Stars
    26
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    679
  • 4 Stars
    236
  • 3 Stars
    74
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    598
  • 4 Stars
    260
  • 3 Stars
    103
  • 2 Stars
    40
  • 1 Stars
    26

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

sweet, different

I like that this was written in the second person narrative. I quite enjoyed it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An amazing new way to blend fiction with nonfiction ideas and a hint of philosophy

The bland of fiction and parallels with modern self help books is a really clever premise. The characters are not as well written as other titles by Mohsin, and I found I was not drawn in by the story overall, but the unique twist to the way the story is told was excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent listen

I have read the author’s other books and I was curious about this one. This one is a story that spans the main character’s life from early childhood to his old age. Through it we see the socio-economic, political and cultural events and trends play out as he navigates through his world with his aspirations and challenges. It’s an epic story disguised as a self-help book. And along the way, the author feeds you with his choice morsels of his insights into life, Asia, the global stage. His narration is dry and even a little matter of fact. Much in contrast to a lot of events. I liked it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Recommended

Concentrated goodness. A uncommon and sublime combination of vagueness and clarity in a convenient morsel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Literature

Really loved listening to this book. Fantastic story, told in a compelling way. The author uses beautiful and creative transition which deeply intrigued me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Breathtaking

I was taken on a journey that I didn't want to end. But as the author portrays in this well narrated look in the mirror, it all eventually comes to an end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A MUST read!

This book, and ALL of his books are a must read. Stellar. Poignant. His way of crafting an impactful story is so human, heartbreaking, joyous, and REAL.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love Mohsin Hamid

This is not his greatest work - I think the Reluctant Fundamentalist is - he is terrific writer and this book is very engaging - listened
to in 2'sittings/ enjoy his writing style very - have listened to Moth Smoke which I recommend as well - Hamid gives a sense of Pakistani life from many different perspectives

Barbara Bisno

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting view of life in Pakistan and a path to wealth.

Not sure what all the hype was about. But it is interesting to get perspectives of life in other parts of the world.
The book is in 3rd person which is a bit distracting. But it keeps your interest.
The book is a light parody of a self help book. It starts off following the main character as a young boy and follows him through his life up through his elderly years. There are branches of other people who effected his life in some way or other, and their perspectives as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unsuspecting but beautiful

I stumbled upon this book knowing nothing about it but loved it from the beginning to the end. It intrigued me from the start & held me in.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!