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Exit West
July 2020: Other Books
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[Poll Ballot] Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - 3 stars
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Content warning: (view spoiler)[Though the gruesome violence mentioned in my review does not happen to the protagonists, there is a scene of a group playing soccer/football with a human head. There are also random acts of violence due to civil unrest/war. (hide spoiler)]
In an unnamed Middle Eastern city, Saeed works at an ad agency and lives with his parents. Nadia works at an insurance company, lives alone, and wears the full-length black robe. They meet and develop a relationship. Their city starts filling with refuges and civil unrest erupts. After violence increases and experiencing a tragedy, Saeed and Nadia decide to take a chance on an apparatus that will take them into the unknown. The narrative proceeds to document their experiences on the other side.
The author does a good job of giving readers a sense for displacement, uncertainty, disruption, and animosity faced by immigrants. I appreciate the themes and it is well-written. A few time-location jumps are inserted, using random characters not previously mentioned, which I found a bit mystifying. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, and he could have used more voice modulation. Be aware that it contains drug use and graphic descriptions of violence.