What the hell, I’ve been enjoying #bookstagram so I’m gonna try some book reviews myself! Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, 2017 This book drew me in with its rapturously beautiful cover, since I’m practically a bowerbird with my love of blue things. But what lies inside is far more subtle, handling the protagonists’ harrowing refugee journey with a balance of restraint and heartfelt humanity. The couple at the center of this novel, Saeed and Nadia, meet as young professionals in an unnamed country "in a city swollen by refugees but still mostly at peace, or at least not yet by war". Although I assumed it to be Syria, I love that Hamid left this aspect of the story ambiguous, as many of the young couple’s struggles are universal for the refugees from other countries they soon come into contact with. In this world, refugees sometimes find their way away from their war torn homelands by way of literal doors, but that’s the only “magic” to be found in their world of hardship. We watch Nadia and Saeed’s bond tested by the strain of their journey, and we can’t help but root for them. I appreciated Hamid’s beautiful writing style and economy of language. He can paint an evocative image so simply, tenderly, and matter-of-factly. Though I felt like the concept of the doors was creative, it cut out considerable aspects of the perilous journeys refugees are forced to undertake. I also found some of Hamid’s side vignettes annoying as they didn’t come together or relate to the primary storyline, but I would absolutely recommend this book. You’re going to warm to Nadia just because she wears a long black robe “so men don’t fuck with me”. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4.5 stars out of 5 #books #bookrecs #reading #exitwest #mohsinhamid #refugees #internationalliterature #literature #readingchallenge #instabooks #readthisbook #goodreads #instabook #bookaddicts #bookreviews #fiction #bookreview https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrUCbbuKAf/?utm_medium=tumblr
