Monday, March 13, 2017

2017 book 47

Mohsin Hamid's Exit West
This seems to be an oddly timely novel, dealing as it does with a young couple, Saeed and Nadia, falling in love in an unnamed war-torn country, and then fleeing as refugees--which is where some magical realism starts to kick in, as their flight is through a mysterious doorway. I actually found the more realistic first half to be more compelling than the slightly more fantastic second half, though I did appreciate the look at how each character takes on adapting to and surviving in an uncertain new world. I don't know, I enjoyed this story and thought the writing was strong, but didn't really feel very connected to Saeed at all, and I wanted to see a lot more about Nadia. Anyway, it's a quick and interesting read. B+.

2 comments:

Christina said...

I loved Saeed & Nadia, but also felt disconnected. i think it's the way the narrator jumped around to make the larger point that we are all refugees through time. I bet this writer was so bummed when Underground Railroad came out!

Christina said...

Also, this review pulled the same quotes I would have if I had written one!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/books/review-exit-west-mohsin-hamid.html