Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Published by Riverhead Books on March 7th 2017
Genres: Literary Fiction
Pages: 240
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.
Exit West follows these characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.
Exit West is a book that tackles a very important issue in a lightweight capsule which makes it a delicious read.
In only 240 pages, Mohsin Hamid tells the story of Nadia and Saeed. Nadia and Saeed are citizens of an unnamed country who meet for the first time in an after work class. They feel the chemistry and no sooner than their friendship starts they know there’s more to it than friendship. Whether it’s love or not, it’s not clear to them yet, but obviously what they have is more than friendship.
The unnamed country is a country on the verge of war and terrorism. No sooner than their relation starts, the country is turned upside down in a military coupe. The militias are taking over and setting their own rules, curfew, new regulations and fear. They are killing anyone who might be opposing them.
It’s in these tough circumstances that people discover The Doors. The Doors is a phenomena almost like a dream to everyone. The Doors is also the fantasy flavor of this book. A door can take you anywhere in the world. All you need is to find a door. However, you don’t know where the destination might be. But doors are also risky. If you are caught trying to use a door, the militias will kill you.
Through these doors, Mohsin Hamid tells us the story of Nadia and Saeed in a fantasy like tale. However, this is a different type of fantasy. It’s a more realistic fantasy. It’s rather a symbolic fantasy.
You choose how you want to perceive this book. From one perspective, Exit West is a book about love, relations, friendship and loss. It’s a book enriched with emotions. However, that’s not all because perceiving the book as merely the story of Nadia and Saeed doesn’t give it its right. The book is rather a symbolic book.
In a very delightful and packed book, Mohsin Hamid introduces the immigrants’ dilemma. He poses a question. What if the whole world is one big country where those doors link geographies together that where before the doors unlinked? Moreover, in a sense, passing through these doors makes everyone an immigrant. Also, there’s the dramatic reasons why some immigrants flee their countries. There’s how immigrants deal with their new realities and how they interact with other immigrants.
Exit West is a thought provoking book. It gives a new dimension to immigrants. It makes us think… Who are we? Are we responsible for our origins? Aren’t’ we all alike, having same hopes, same fears and same aspirations? It’s a book about humans interacting with humans.
The audiobook was amazing. I call this the author/narrator bliss. I always find the author to be the best one to narrate his book. He feels the book. Mohsin Hamid’s narration was great.
About Mohsin Hamid
