Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Exit West

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Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

25 reviews

violerwolf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Hamid’s circular, winding prose is definitely not for everyone, and I think it probably turns a lot of people away from this book. This style works really well though at creating a sense of calm inevitability throughout the book, that everything that happens will happen because of who the characters are and what the world is. Hamid’s focus on intersectionality within the novel plays well with the larger themes of immigration and community. Similarly, the lack of specificity of where Nadia and Saeed are from creates the sense that they could be anyone and everyone. I did find the characterization awkward at points, and I went into the book originally assuming the doors to be a much larger part of the plot rather than a simple allegory for open/uncontrolled borders, but overall I’m excited to check out Hamid’s other work.

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maybreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

A very quick read which explores some very interesting concepts. I felt that the magic doors were not fleshed out fully and the random cutaway scenes did not always jive with the larger narrative. What I really liked about this story was the way it explored the relationship of the protagonists and the strain which war and constant flight put on it. I thought the first half of the story was better, afterwards there are practically no even slightly fleshed out character's besides the main two. Up until they go through the door you have some relevant side characters, namley the parents. Afterwards every other character feels like a plot device which I thought was sad.
Another thing is the style of the prose which was something I had never encountered before. It's incredibly descriptive, maybe poetic while simutaniously feeling almost deadpan and detached. It was a very curious thing to read. Still, or maybe even due to this peculiar narrating voice, the novel was a very easy read and truly enjoyable.

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Rating: 3/5 stars

Nadia and Saeed flee their war-torn nation through a magical door that can help people travel long distances.

I buddy read this one with my friend Hannah and our conversation about it was…probably my favorite part of the read. This wasn’t bad, exactly, but I never really got pulled into the story, and I found myself feeling like this book was trying to make deep points with meaningfully political commentary, yet none of it was landing for me. I couldn’t even tell you what I thought the main philosophical/intellectual takeaways from this were, which is never a great sign.

That said, this is a very short read, and others might find more to connect with! For me, I wanted to see the magical realism element explored a LOT more, and wanted more plot points that grabbed me and made me feel emotionally connected with the story.

CW: Violence/war/blood; death of parent; xenophobia/racism

Content Warnings