Exit West

I’m late to the game on this one, but what a novel!!

Moshin Hamid’s Exit West begins with the story of Saeed and Nadia, living in an unnamed country besieged by militants. They are in a night class together, and start falling for each other. Soon, with the destruction all around them, they become closer, and dependent upon each other. When Saeed and Nadia begin to hear of magical doors that are aiding people in escaping from their city, they try and seek a door out. One afternoon, they step through a door and end up in a refugee camp in Mykonos. Then, they go to London, and California — each step through a door taking them into a world that remains unfriendly to refugees. The magical element of this novel, however, does not overshadow its prescience. As Hamid explained, “This time, relaxing the laws of physics, in just one, specific, particular way, opened up space for the story. Sometimes unreality can feel more real.”

At its heart, however, it’s more than just the story of Saeed and Nadia — it’s the story of mass migration and refugees in our current political time. Hamid, a Pakistani British novelist, expertly captures the experience of those who have lost their homes — and the nativist reaction to refugees. As Jia Tolentino writes in The New Yorker, “ The novel feels immediately canonical, so firm and unerring is Hamid’s understanding of our time and its most pressing questions. Whom are we prepared to leave behind in our own pursuit of happiness? Whom are we able to care for, whom are we willing to care for, and why are our answers to those questions so rarely the same?”

Don’t wait — go read this now. Rating: ★★★★★

Get it here — https://amzn.to/2SO5L6E