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violerwolf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Grief, Sexism, Drug use, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Death, War, Confinement, and Racism
violetends's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Confinement, and Racism
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Racism, Religious bigotry, and War
aquakirst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the vignettes of various people peppered throughout the story were beautifully written, and i was invested in every story hamid chose to tell. i did find his prose a bit clunky at times, like he was trying too hard to be poetic when simplicity would have been more evocative, but overall exit west is a beautiful story of love, loss and hope
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and War
Minor: Xenophobia and Racism
peachani's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Islamophobia and Racism
Minor: Violence, War, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Sexism, and Sexual content
lanosmith5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Xenophobia and War
Moderate: Racism
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Our main characters are real, fitting inconveniently into their fictional culture as one does, in communities ruptured as often happens, and made refugees, migrants, as too many are. The novel works, then, as a dialogue between the micro (the relationship between Saeed and Nadia) and the macro (a world compelled to confront the immigrant experience): relationships of choice and of compulsion. Fittingly, and without spoilers, Hamid's closing chapters pull these together in poetic epiphany for us, even if all his characters never quite get it.
Accept the character asides, accept the narrator's distanced omniscience, accept the conceit which propels the novel into its collisions--what awaits is little less than the collective responsibility we all have as readers and dwellers.
Why not five stars? If anything, Hamid is too modest in his ambition, in the depths of his explorations, opting instead for a quickly told short work which might do more still than call the question.
Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Death of parent
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Racism, and War
readwriteknit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Islamophobia, War, Racism, Murder, and Xenophobia
sarahdoggen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Classism, Grief, Racism, Violence, War, and Gun violence