A review by _bookmoth
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.0

This novel has a strong start of two lovers who, though different in character, find each other in a city threatened by an upcoming conflict. Hamid is poetic at times and his pace not slow yet also not rushed.

But then the doors come in. The doors are magical gateways to teleport people from one place to another.

First I thought it was meant metaphorically, connecting to the poetic language of the novel, but I soon realised this is magical realism in the style of Salman Rusdhie's Midnight's Children. However, where Rushdie blends the magic through the fabric of his plot, Hamid uses it more like a deus ex machina to conveniently move his characters from one continent to another.

After entering the first door

, the book transforms into a different kind of story, haphazard and without real purpose. It also felt more political and less focussed on story.

As Nadia and Saeed move through the doors their interest in each other dwindles and eventually get separated.

  I couldn't care less. This novel felt like a dud.