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The Architecture of Belonging: A Comparative Study of Alienation and Identity in Maximum City and at Home in Enemy Land
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Travel Writing
Abstract
This paper explores the themes of alienation and identity in Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found and Saad Shazli’s At Home in Enemy Land. Both texts, though different in context and narrative approach, engage deeply with the idea of belonging in complex socio-political environments. Mehta’s account of Mumbai presents a fragmented urban identity shaped by migration, crime, and cultural diversity, while Shazli’s narrative reflects the psychological and cultural tensions of living across hostile national and ideological boundaries. The study argues that belonging is not a fixed condition but an evolving structure shaped by memory, space, and social experience. Through comparative analysis, the paper highlights how both authors construct identity through experiences of displacement, negotiation, and adaptation.
Keywords
Belonging, alienation, identity, urban space, travel writing, Suketu Mehta, Saad Shazli
References
[1] Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2002. Routledge
[2] Bauman, Zygmunt. Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. Polity Press, 2004.
[3] Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
[4] Clifford, James. Routes: Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century. Harvard UP, 1997.
[5] Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” Identity: Community, Culture, Difference, edited by Jonathan Rutherford, Lawrence & Wishart, 1990, pp. 222–37.
[6] Mehta, Suketu. Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. Vintage Books, 2005. Vintage
[7] Pratt, Mary Louise. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2008. Routledge
[8] Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Penguin Books, 2003.
[9] Shazli, Saad. At Home in Enemy Land. HarperCollins India, 2017.
How to cite this paper
@article{1723513,
author = {Shital Deshmukh},
title = {The Architecture of Belonging: A Comparative Study of Alienation and Identity in Maximum City and at Home in Enemy Land},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {3},
pages = {3865-3869},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1723513.pdf},
abstract = {This paper explores the themes of alienation and identity in Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found and Saad Shazli’s At Home in Enemy Land. Both texts, though different in context and narrative approach, engage deeply with the idea of belonging in complex socio-political environments. Mehta’s account of Mumbai presents a fragmented urban identity shaped by migration, crime, and cultural diversity, while Shazli’s narrative reflects the psychological and cultural tensions of living across hostile national and ideological boundaries. The study argues that belonging is not a fixed condition but an evolving structure shaped by memory, space, and social experience. Through comparative analysis, the paper highlights how both authors construct identity through experiences of displacement, negotiation, and adaptation.},
keywords = {Belonging, alienation, identity, urban space, travel writing, Suketu Mehta, Saad Shazli},
month = {September},
}