Mohsin Hamid is a British Pakistani novelist. He authored four books:
- Moth Smoke (2000),
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007),
- How to
Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (2013),
- Exit
West (2017).
Exit West arrived at me in May
from Willoughby Book Club Team. It is a very beautiful birthday surprise from
my cousin and I will receive a book each month, until my next birthday. In the
beginning, I did not know that they had some suggestions regarding the books I
liked so far and, as I was advancing with the reading, I wondered if they
accessed my Goodreads profile and saw there what books I have loved. They didn’t.
They had some tips and tricks from my cousin.
It is the story of a couple
from a Muslim country. The book starts when there was peace and people were
able to enjoy some freedoms we all take for granted in our countries, and as
the story of the couple evolves and unfolds, the war takes more and more space
and it is the reason why they had to leave and find refuge in another place.
There is no mention of the
name of this country. I suspected that maybe it is Syria or Afghanistan, but I
think that Hamid’s decision to not mention the name has to do with the fact
that, no matter the country, the war brings the same devastating consequences. In
a world where wars and fights are so present, the name is less important than
the people.
While today’s refugees use
boats, cars, and any other means to reach a safe country, Mohsin Hamid invented
another mean to travel: through magic doors. No one knew where they were
traveling. Saeed and Nadia arrived in Mykonos (Greece), London (UK), and Marin
County (California, USA). Their journey brought them face to face with so many
difficulties, hatred, and, sometimes, some small “mirrors” from their country
of origin. While Nadia was more convinced of the fact that she will never
return back home, Saeed was more inclined to spend his time and actions with
people from home. As humans, we have different ways of coping with longing and
missing home and our loved ones.
It is a sad book because you
get to see how divided we are, but is also a book that brings hope. They could
have settled in London, not the city we know now, but one divided by fights
between the anti refugees, called in the book as NATIVISTS, and refugees; but
they didn’t and opened another door that brought them to a safe place, where
both of them could be their true self, far away from hatred, war, and nativists.
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