Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is an adult fiction book that follows two characters as they are forced to migrate from their homeland.
In a country on the cusp of civil war a man and a woman meet. Independent Nadia and reserved Saeed form a bond amidst the coming chaos that is both intimate and escalates quickly. Soon the two must band together to survive the unrest roiling through their city.
As conditions in their home worsen, Saeed and Nadia hear whispers of doors, doorways that can take you far away… for a price. With no good choices available to then, Nadia and Saeed take one of these doors, leaving their old lives, their old selves, behind. What the future holds, no one knows.
One of the things I loved about this book was the narrative. We have this almost, observational narrator, who is telling the story as if watching it unfold. I think this is great because you get this feeling of being on the outside looking in and not being a migrant myself, this is what I feel like I should be feeling. Definitely helps to reinforce the narrative.
The story itself is more metaphorical than magical. You have these dark doorways that transport you somewhere else, be it good or bad, but these doors aren’t magical, they are metaphors for the migrant experience. Nadia describes being changed as one pushes through the door, being both exhausted and elated, regretful and relieved. Nadia and Saeed enter these doorways looking for a better life but never sure of if what they find will be better or worse than where they are coming from.
I thought the transition Saeed and Nadia went through in this story both heartbreaking but also a bit beautiful. They were able to stay together through the hardships and yet they were able to realize how they have changed and what it meant for them as a couple. There was no bitterness, no hatred or betrayal.
This one gets 4 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-