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Exit West
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Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - 4 stars
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Perhaps because I read this so close to The Underground Railroad, which also used MR but IMO in a very ineffective way, but I thought the use of MR here was brilliant. It was subtle and served an important purpose, and I thought the author did an excellent job of still incorporating the emotions and feelings of emigrating even if he did not describe the actual process.
Of course, it was very different than the MR of Sarah Addison Allen or Alice Hoffman, it was less kitchen magic that someone used and instead was a literary mechanism. It was a novel use for me and I was duly impressed with the author's adept hand incorporating it.
As a side note, my book club tonight is discussing The Underground Railroad, and I just cannot get over how pointless the use of MR was there!
Nicole R wrote: "Perhaps because I read this so close to The Underground Railroad, which also used MR but IMO in a very ineffective way, but I thought the use of MR here was brilliant. It was subt..."
As you both know, I'm not a fan of magical realism, but I have to concur that I totally understood the point of it in Exit West and thought it was used seamlessly there so it didn't disrupt the narrative. In Underground Railroad, it seemed so clunky to me.
I too agree. I thought he magical realism was really well done in fact a prime example of how I think magical realism should be used. The use of these magic doors allowed the reader to shift focus of an immigration story onto specific elements rather than getting bogged down with how the process of immigration occurs. It allowed him to locate the book in a general space where the emphasis was on the commonality of experience rather than how specific countries deal with immigration. I can certainly understand someone not liking the magical elements but I do think it's hard to say that they were frivolously added or not incorporated well.
Amy wrote: "Once in awhile, its hard to read a book that comes with high expectations. This one has been getting five stars across the board, and just out of the gate. Praise for Exit West has been high. Don't..."Amy, I understand where you are coming from. This is from my review:
"For the first half of this book I was enraptured. It was so moving and so real. And then about midway the book shifted much like The Orphan Master's Son or The Underground Railroad and my balanced faltered and I wondered what was I reading and did I like it.
The writing continued to be brilliant, but I wondered if I wanted to follow Mohsin Hamid through the doors he was taking me."
I really loved his writing and the relationship in the first part of the book. It was so real to life from a nonfiction I had just read.
But the shift through the doors definitely threw me off balance. And then I remember how strange and similar to going through doors was my nonfiction book, that the likeness captured me. Recently I read another nonfiction book about a war photographer who also used the simile of doors, so I really believe it works. From It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War:
didn’t think that far in advance; I didn’t wring my hands over seemingly enormous decisions. I just saw the door and went through it. That was the case with moving to India. It would turn out to be the last time I lived in the United States.
another instance in the same book:
With each new assignment—whether I was in Congo, Darfur, Afghanistan, or elsewhere—I felt more fortunate to be an independent, educated woman. I was thirty-one years old, and I cherished my right to choose my love, my work. I had the privilege to travel and to walk away from hardship when it became too much to bear. Most people on earth didn’t have an exit door to walk away from their own lives.
So I think doors really work.
The other part of it all is I think that it does the same thing that Underground Railroad does in that going through doors or on a railroad, the characters really illustrate a whole possibility of what could happen to them and how they perceive it.
The other thing which someone mentioned was the developing and shifting of relationship which was quite beautiful. In truthfulness, I love the reality of the beginning and would been happier if it had stayed in a more reality based and not shifted to magical realism, but perhaps I am being an old fuddy duddy with that.
Beautifully written review, B and B. I completely understand what everyone is feeling. I do agree the doors were a beautifully used vehicle for transporting refugees in large masses to various places, and imagining what would happen if such doors could transport entire parts of the world and drop them off in various places. And that it was a way of capturing that experience, without having to detail the harsh realities of transport. I think the fact of the magical realism entering halfway through is what threw me. Maybe if the concept had been introduced from the beginning I might have felt differently, a little less turned around. The relationship part was beautifully depicted, and I tremendously appreciated that. The writing and the characters had a tenderness to them that I felt was quite depthful. I have read other reviews that suggest the characters were one dimensional. I certainly did not find that to be the case. None of us can imagine the kinds of situations these two characters have been through, and I felt that we felt them slowly shifting and opening throughout the book. This is where the doors became interesting to me, around transitions. Its not that I minded it so much. I think it tremendously captured something. Maybe its hard to explain why I went with four instead of five. Maybe its just personality. Like you look at a person's top ten (or in my case 15-20) and you see what kind of stories and experiences make each of us soar and capture our imaginations. Sometimes its hard to be the one to select the books for the book club. You are choosing for an entire group, (mostly on the suggestions of PBT I might add). I feel a tad responsible sometimes for how these books go over. Although if others have suggestions, I love that and can feel some release of responsibility. Americanah was a pick that didn't originally generate from me, and now The Hate U Give is another. Anyway, the good news is, that a book group is also an excuse to get together with beloved friends. So after we talk about Exit West, we'll just be together and talk about our lives. I'll look forward to sharing with you how others received it. My friend Elizabeth has been unhappy with it since the magical realism entered, but hey, she hated the Nix too! Maybe next time, I let her pick the book!
The doors really worked for me too. Like others, I found it to be a really clever way to have them moving from place to place whilst focusing on the relationships rather than the act of travelling itself.
Amy wrote: "Beautifully written review, B and B. I completely understand what everyone is feeling. I do agree the doors were a beautifully used vehicle for transporting refugees in large masses to various plac..."Amy, I agree that it is hard to be the book chooser! My book club has a choosing roster, and although I like having the control of being a chooser, I have read some great books that I would never have touched because of the choices of others. Likewise I have read terrible books for the same reason! LOL! Like a book written by a Big British Bake Off winner. :-/
I totally had you in mind as I was making these comments. Your British bake off!
Ugh! I'm trying to be more positive about it. Perhaps it will be great.
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/06/5187430...I just came across this interview where the author talks about the concept of the doors.
Haven't had a chance to see it yet, very much looking forward to the interview. One of the women in my group said she had heard a part of an interview on this with the author on NPR. Actually the women quite loved the book. They thought it was unusual and different. And there were places in there where at least for a few, some gems really stood out. The woman who was underwhelmed actually stated that she liked it more after getting the opportunity to discuss it with us. Another woman who liked it least, Felt that the authors audio narration made it hard to listen to. She did not like his voice. I drew attention to the many many paragraphs that were just one sentence, in fact there were a few where entire pages were just one sentence. I imagine an audio would find it hard to phrase these, and since I only read in print, I felt it worked well. She felt the narrator/author droned with little intonation and expression. So I have little comment about that. But the book was largely loved. As I thought it might or would be. One woman said that the piece on page 202/203 really summed up in an amazing way, why she prays, and why she would want to raise her kids in our religion. She was really moved by that piece of writing, specifically about the joy he remembered and his parents faces, and help right now is a connection to them. In any case, the book group went well, and I think our next book is the hate you give. Which we might read with our highschoolers as well. Not mine of course. This morning he unequivocally said absolutely not I will not be there! But there were no swears, and he was rather polite about his resoluteness. He also said he was unwilling to read the book but that will happen. I may even make him write another essay. Maybe I'll even share his essay with the group.
Amy wrote: "Haven't had a chance to see it yet, very much looking forward to the interview. One of the women in my group said she had heard a part of an interview on this with the author on NPR. Actually the w..."Yes, the link I posted is for the NPR interview
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It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War (other topics)The Underground Railroad (other topics)
The Underground Railroad (other topics)
I think where a few of my friends got thrown off course is when the magical realism entered. I had a similar reaction. Usually, I love magical realism. I am not necessarily a critic, I can even be drawn to it. But I had the feeling here, that it just sort of didn't necessarily fit. It was an interesting concept, and certainly led to some interesting themes. But the book seemed to just take a turn. I admit that I agree with my friends. We all felt just a little but thrown. Again, I'm not completely slamming the thing. I enjoyed it, it was creative and interestingly written. I even gave it four stars for engaging and a style of writing that makes thoughtful observations. It just wasn't the all time rave I was expecting. Perhaps I will have more to say after we discuss it on Sunday.