Asad answers “Does the page and a half at the beginning...”

Princessdarcy asked this question about Exit West:

Does the page and a half at the beginning that the author spends talking about the parent's sex life in vivid detail have anything to do with the actual story? The father's impotence and the mother's insatiable sexual appetite seems to be well out of place...

Asad I feel that it gives the parents a sort of human aspect. It was a quick way to give a feeling of the history of this couple, young lovers to new paren…moreI feel that it gives the parents a sort of human aspect. It was a quick way to give a feeling of the history of this couple, young lovers to new parents to now old people. It made me think of them as people with their own story, not just view them as Saeed's parents.

I also agree with James. Though I did not have this perception at first, it makes sense that Mohsin is challenging western readers assumptions ie. it is not always the man who is dominant and with a large sexual appetite.(less)

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