Exit West

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Exit West is a completely fascinating read - one that will linger in my mind and feel so relevant as I read sad stories about immigration and countries that seem far away falling apart in bloody civil wars. What Hamid does though is help those far away places and the people who call those places home feel as though they could be you. What a gift--

So why 3 stars (I'd probably do 3.5 if Goodreads allowed half stars) then? I wanted more. Hamid uses language sparingly and reminded me almost of Hemingway in his directness. All through the book, I craved the more lush descriptions of writers like Khaled Hosseini or Tim O'Brien when setting up the conflicts or the characters. And while I was totally willing to suspend reality and travel through the doors, the character development left me a little unfulfilled.

That is not to say that I wouldn't recommend this book. Its conflicts mirror today's society in frightening accuracy and challenge assumptions that all of us make. This book explores what it means to be human, and I always like to be reminded of that.

Happy reading-

ps. Unique reading choice because it was entirely informed by Anne Bogel's "What Should I Read Next" podcast and critics praise. Not my usual way to choose books....