Exit West

Ulla D 6 19/01/2018

I'll admit it: I am completely infatuated with Mohsin Hamid. Everything he writes is exquisite, and Exit West is no exception. I pre-ordered it months before it was actually published and it far exceeded my very big expectations. This is in my view an extremely important book that explores why people decide to flee their home countries for freedom and safety, and how hard it is to make such a decision when you know that there is likely no turning back. How it changes you and your relationships in both positive and negative ways, how leaving is almost an act of murder in that you permanently cut out people that you care about from your life. I love everything about this novel; the writing, the characters, the setting in an unspecified country, the love story, and not least the brilliant use of magical realism that reflects how this world has become a very small place. I wish everyone in the western world would have an opportunity to read it.