Exit West

I think there's some fuzziness to the novel's purpose that keeps it from being great–should borders be eliminated? should people stay put? should migrants always be welcomed with open arms?–but it certainly raises these important issues. The introduction of the magical realist element in an otherwise realistic story reminded me of The Underground Railroad.

So I'm confused about the book. I really liked the underlying theme but didn't like the writing style -
those long, never-ending sentences. I also felt there were some parts in the book that really could've been skipped. Like explaining Saeed's parents' life when the latter were young. I didn't understand the significance of that. I also ended up not liking both protagonists, Saeed and Nadia. Additionally I think the scenes of physical intimacy could have been toned down.

[b:Exit West 30688435 Exit West Mohsin Hamid https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477324680s/30688435.jpg 51234185]“We are all migrants through time.” Mohsin Hamid What a magnificent and magical novel! At a mere 240 pages, Exit West is jam-packed with beautiful, poetic and imaginative writing. Hamid is a magician of words and I was a guest on his magic carpet. The novel is about refugees, immigration, the loss of loved ones, adjusting to new environments, and much more. The story begins with Nadia and Saeed, both young and in love. Their country has become a dangerous war zone that is progressively getting worse. They learn of mystic, transportable doors, which can take them to faraway places. Nadia and Saeed decide to leave their war-torn country and travel through one of the portable doors. The story follows them as they live in different places all around the world. An interesting aspect is that Hamid weaves other characters who also go through the transportable doors throughout the novel, which I think is pretty genius. This novel is quite relevant to the current refugee crisis going on. This is one of those books that I was so glad that I had the audible narration for because listening to the author read his work makes it so much more magical. FIVE STARS all the way.

Unfortunately I think this is a case of ‘it's not you it's me'. I was not in the right head space for this - easily distracted, anxious (aren't we all) and generally sad with the state of the world. It was beautifully written with important messages around refugees and immigrants- but I couldn't connect- or maybe couldn't allow myself to connect.