Review- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Exit West on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

Release date: March 7th 2017

Published by: Riverhead

Page numbers: 231

REVIEW: 

How do I even begin writing this review? I remember I was completely floored by author Mohsin Hamid's writing when I read his The Reluctant Fundamentalist a few years ago. There was something very captivating about his writing and something very engaging about his storytelling that made me want to keep an eye on him as I was sure I wanted to read more by the author. So when I heard about Exit West, I did not even bother finding out what the book was about, but I got a copy for myself and began reading.

I was not prepared for the emotionally intense ride that was Exit West. In this book, Hamid begins with a very normal day in a very normal- albeit nameless- country, where two people, Saeed and Nadia, meet and keep meeting until the normalcy turns to crisis. With disaster striking their country and with the situation getting worse, they are compelled to move somewhere else through something called the "doors", which was the only fantastical- or as Hamid puts it "magical realism"- element in the book. This way, they keep moving through doors which take them from Greece to England to America.

While watching Hamid's interviews where he talks about Exit West, I noticed that what he insists on in each of them is that the book is not so much about how people move but more about what makes them move. And by move, he means leaving everything and everyone you know behind and just go somewhere hoping there is a better life there. Hence, the concept of these "doors" is not as important as compared to exactly why Saeed and Nadia take them.

What this book made me do is it made me understand the entire concept of refugees, immigration, migration and crisis that the world faces; which is something I was only vaguely aware of initially. I actually ended up doing heaps of research on this topic, and for me, that is a duty well done on the author's part because he created awareness and made me, as a reader, want to know more about the condition and situation that we are in right now. If could say one word to Hamid, it would probably just be a small but very true thank you that would come straight from my heart.

If you are looking for a light read and a book that makes you escape reality for a while, Exit West is not the one for you. The book hits you in the face with reality and is emotionally splendid.

Mohsin Hamid's interview with Wall Street Journal on YouTube

Buy the book: AMAZON

Review- The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Goodreads Summary:

At a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter . . .

Changez is living an immigrant's dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite valuation firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.

But in the wake of september 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.

REVIEW:

I had been looking forward to reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist since a very long time now. The book had been sitting on my shelf since God knows how long, when I finally decided to pick it up and read it. I have always loved reading stories that are set on the backdrop of the 9/11 attacks on America. It is a very sensitive issue and everyone's opinion on it depends on on where they live but some way or the other, the entire world was affected by it, which is why the theme always works, whether in books or movies. The Reluctant Fundamentalist was no exception. It was just as good as any other book I've read based on the most politically challenging incident of our times. 

Before telling you what The Reluctant Fundamentalist is, let me tell you what it is not. It is not a political outburst, it is not a debate, it is not a retelling of the attacks, nor is it a journey of the consequences of the event. The book is a simple second person point of view narration, where the protagonist Changez, sitting in a comfortable and quaint café in Lahore, recounts to an American man about whom we know nothing, his journey as a respectful Pakistani boy coming from a prestigious yet financially slightly unstable family who goes to become a hard working student at Princeton University, a diligent worker at Underwood Samson, a sincere and reverential friend and lover, but throughout his journey, what strikes the reader the most is that Changez remains, from the first page to the last, a human being who is very good at heart. 

When I picked up The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. After reading the first chapter itself, I knew that the story would move me tremendously. While not tremendously, the story still moved me. I was slightly disappointed by difference in the range of emotion that I wanted to feel and the one I actually ended up feeling. Because it is a very simple narration, I found myself connecting very easily with the protagonist Cahngez, whose voice was very crisp, smooth, honest and sincere. His transition from a local boy to an international man and how he wanted to identify himself as a New Yorker but knew in his heart that he would always be Pakistani, was simply astounding. Author Mohsin Hamid has a writing that flows like a large and generous river running through the magnificent country that is Pakistan. His book is very good. I only wish it were longer. 

RATING: