Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion
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Discussion: Exit West
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Nov 1-3 General talk about the book
Nov 4-8 Chap 1-3
Nov 9-15 Through to Chap 6
Nov 16-21 Through to Chap 9
Nov 22 Open discussion no spoilers
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I finished the first three chapters in the book and looking forward to completing most or all of it on my morning/evening train commute.
Has anyone read it?
Currently reading?
Have you read other work by this author?
What do you think of the book cover?
Let’s discuss
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Columbus wrote: "Our November discussion book is Exit West by the acclaimed author, Mohsin Hamid. This book, as previously mentioned, has garnered a load of award nominations and created much buzz in the book world..."Yes, I read it in June and loved it.
This was my third book of Hamid's. I first read How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and found it to be brilliant, original, warm and thoughtful. Next was The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Typically, Fundamentalist is the novel everyone's read and many loved. To me, it was intriguing but the main character didn't quite work, e.g., I never bought his motivation or his shift post 9-11.
The cover? Meh. A lovely shade that stands out on a display table, though, so no doubt a wise marketing choice.
I started it yesterday. Easy read, already a third of the way through. I'll need to take notes in order to contribute to the discussion towards the end of the month. I'm anxious to see how he brings the threads he's laying out together.
I finished reading this a couple of days ago and I thought it is well deserving of its acclaim. I am eager to see what others think of it.
Carol wrote: "Columbus wrote: "Our November discussion book is Exit West by the acclaimed author, Mohsin Hamid. This book, as previously mentioned, has garnered a load of award nominations and created much buzz ..."I agree that Mohsin Hamid is a brilliant writer and I always look forward to his next book.
I think one of greatest strengths/contributions is that he seems to have his finger on the pulse of the times and address issues in a thoughtful manner and often in an unexpected way that gives me pause on the issues making me think more deeply about that.
I am always pleased on how his books seem to be so timely.
I have read the same three books that you have and this may influence which I consider my favorite.
I first read The Reluctant Fundamentalist shortly after it was published and really struck a chord with me as it reflected what I often was seeing in Americans in their attitudes towards those from the Middle East after 9/11. I thought this novel so expressed this change. This is my favorite book of the author's.
Next I read How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. This book came along when it became very obvious that Asia was making leaps and bounds in economic growth and manufacturing despite the Western view of them being a third world countries. Also enjoyed this book.
And I read Exit West earlier this year and it 3 for 3 for me from this author.
I liked the cover more after reading the book - thought it has a "black hole" type of feel which went along with the theme and portal element used in the book.
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I agree with William, it's a rather easy and accessible read and not at all what I expected. I thought I recall reading early reviews of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and critics mentioned how dense it is. This book doesn't fit that description at all unless there's some wild, drastic shift further down the line. Carol/Beverly were the other two books similar in readability. Do you recall?
I read this book several months ago and found it made me think a lot about immigration and refugees and how it must feel for those forced to flee their homes. My parents immigrated to North America and their reasons for leaving their family and friends were not rooted in adversity but were still complicated. Moshing Hamid write a deceptively simple book that left me still mulling thoughts and feelings.
Columbus wrote: "Thanks everyone for your responses.I agree with William, it's a rather easy and accessible read and not at all what I expected. I thought I recall reading early reviews of The Reluctant Fundament..."
I thought they were. Highly accessible.
This is my first of Hamid's books, and I'm very impressed. What a compulsive read! I picked it up just to start, but had trouble putting it down. I'm about half way, and taking a break because I know I'll gulp the rest down when I go back to it.
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https://www.thenation.com/article/we-...
Columbus wrote: "New interview just posted in The Nation with the author, Mohsin Hamid:https://www.thenation.com/article/we-..."
Wow! Such an excellent article. I loved what he says about hope and the imagination. Thanks for sharing this, Columbus.
Thanks, Columbus. That was a really good interview.
i think i'm the only i know who found this book just too damn painful. i read the first 2/3 and i had to stop cuz it was killing me. i think it's absolutely brilliant, btw, so the pain is all the sharper.
i'm italian and get daily reports from italy about the "immigrant" crisis. my mom is very active in finding jobs and accommodations for immigrants and consequently deals with brutal racism and islamophobia (from fellow italians) daily. i'm also part of fb groups of italians and the anti-immigrant hatred is so raw and pervasive and almost universal. in the meantime ships full of human beings sink in the mediterranean and governments do their level best still to keep them from reaching european land. the mediterranean is full of bodies. italian fishermen have stopped eating the fish they fish. i cry just thinking about this. all this hatred. the enormity of the human misery.
so yeah, it was too hard. but today it is due back at the library and i'm thinking about a last-minute lunge to the finish.
jo, I encourage you to finish if you have time. I think there is a message of hope with this book, and I think you may need to read that.
Laurie wrote: "jo, I encourage you to finish if you have time. I think there is a message of hope with this book, and I think you may need to read that."I agree. Hamid's perspective, presented in the novel and at book signings, is that hope is essential both for residents/citizens and for migrants fleeing countries in turmoil.
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i think it's absolutely brilliant, btw, so the pain is all the..."
Please finish it. A fellow inquired as to what I was reading on the subway today that sparked a huge dialogue about immigration, refugees, Muslims, etc.... there were inquiring and listening ears all over. All appear to want to jump in. I think that's exactly what the author wants.
I've got this one from the library and hope to dive in this weekend. I'm looking forward to it! And the weekend forcast is stormy so...perfect! This will be my first from this author though Carol also convinced me to read How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia so that will probably happen next year.
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Monica, I think I’ll eventually read his other two books based on his current book and Carol and Beverly’s response.
Laurie wrote: "jo, I encourage you to finish if you have time. I think there is a message of hope with this book, and I think you may need to read that."I haven't finished the book yet, but I thought what he said in the above interview about the importance of us imagining a hopeful future was very profound.
I have finished the book and look forward to discussing it. I have previously read Moth Smoke and loved it.
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Hannah, thanks for bringing that book to my attention. I’ve been saying “his two previous novels” unaware that he had this debut one out there. Oops
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“It might seem odd that in cities teetering at the edge of the abyss young people still go to class . . . but that is the way of things, with cities as with life,” the narrator states at the beginning of Exit West. In what ways do Saeed and Nadia preserve a semblance of a daily routine throughout the novel? Why do you think this—and pleasures like weed, records, sex, the rare hot shower—becomes so important to them?
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Now we have Nadia, a woman so independent, modern, adventurous and in control who chooses to wear a black robe. By choice. Such a conservative thing to do I wwas outdoors imagine that would be counter to what we know of her early on. Any thoughts?
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I kept thinking Syria, but that's probably because Syria has been in the news so much. And thank you, Columbus. I really liked this book, and the author's writing style.
Columbus wrote: "I’m cheating a little here, but here’s a question I found online and wanted to ask those who have finished the first 3 chapters of the book:“It might seem odd that in cities teetering at the edge..."
I think those simple, everyday things are really important to focus on. I know with the little crises I've faced, I've found it's there that your mind goes, to needing those everyday comforts. And that is what we all share, so important to think about people in a war zone feeling just like the rest of us that way.
I love the simplicity of this book. It's a beautiful contrast with the crazy things going on in the world.
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In the first chapter we get this story set in Sydney, Australia of a woman sleeping in her home, husband in Perth on business and while her alarm is disengaged a dark man enters her home, her room. Nothing really happens here but there are references to windows, doors, passages and also included and certainly not by accident, gentrification. This breakaway happens in other chapters as well.
Columbus wrote: "Any thoughts on where they might be? Syria, Pakistan, Libya. Let’s see where else....?"I liked that the author did not name a country as I thought this makes the reader examine the humanity of being/becoming refugees.
This makes the story more universal to me because at anytime in history you can find that there were refugees and the issues remain the same.
I also thought that by using a specific country it would narrow how we looked at the bigger issues the author wants us to think about.
I agree with Beverly that not naming the country that Nadia and Saeed are from is important. This way the reader can't have an innate bias for or against the characters based on their feelings about a country. The plight and issues of being a refugee are universal and the country of origin is not what matters.
i would like to thank those who encouraged me to finish this book cuz wow, what a masterpiece of poetry and wisdom and HOPE!
I'm glad others have addressed the "why isn't their home country named?" question, as I've been contemplating that choice. I wonder where these breakaway substories are going! I don't know yet whether we'll loop back to any of these situations, or whether they're sorta disembodied menacing vignettes generally indicating global fear-of-others.... I'm intrigued.
I think I'm liking Hamid's (to me) distancing effect, such as when our omniscient narrator mentions how long (short!) a character has left to live -- but I fear I might find it too emotionally distancing over the course of the book? (I'm only through chapter 3 so far.)
Jo, thank you for sharing your pain & personal connection to migration issues the book raised. I'm also happy to hear you enjoyed finishing the book. :-)
jo wrote: "i would like to thank those who encouraged me to finish this book cuz wow, what a masterpiece of poetry and wisdom and HOPE!"I’m so glad you were happy with your choice.
One of the things I love about Hamid’s novels is that —at least for the three I have read — his endings are always positive. That doesn’t mean that, necessarily, no one ever dies or all couples end up together, per se, but he ends his books on a glass-half-full note, a view that the future is open for his characters and filled with good possibilities. I wasted a lot of time when I read Rising Asia worried about a main character dying in a bombing or other event. When I ended, I wished someone had told me I could relax and enjoy it without that negative suspense. Same here, but I now trust Hamid to take my heart and brain somewhere authentic but good.
The most difficult part of Exit West for me was (view spoiler)
Having not read any of Hamid's previous works , I was kind of enjoying the tension he was building in the first 2/3 of the book. I was pretty sure something ominous would happen and that our sweethearts would be dealt a deadly blow. But as others have already said, the book is really pretty caring and hopeful.
I know what you mean, William. I was in a state of such tension as I read and worried about whether Nadia and Said would somehow be ok. And yes, Jo, such hope at the end!
i feel we are spoiling the book for those who are enjoying the apocalyptic suspense!
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For those not sure where the first part of the reading schedule ends, we are now discussing chaps 1-3 which ends with:
Chap 3 ends with what appears to be the government’s massive show of force succeeding and the curfew being relaxed or possibly lifting. It ends with,
Deprived of the portals to each other and to the world provided by their mobile phones, and confined to their apartments by the nighttime curfew, Nadia and Saeed, and countless others, felt marooned and alone and much more afraid.
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Case in point, in one paragraph we hear of the middle-aged business owner going about his business selling ingredients to chefs and epicures and then the next paragraph that same chef is beheaded, nape first with a serrated knife to enhance discomfort his headless body strung up by one ankle from an electricity pylon where it swayed legs akimbo until the shoelace used instead of rope rotted and gave way, no one daring to cut him down before that.
Whew!
It was matter-of-fact, which I found increased the wrongness and horror of it.
Columbus wrote: "Anyone else struck about how matter-of-fact the early violence is in here? It’s not gratuitous and certainly pertinent to the story that’s certainly not in dispute.Case in point, in one paragraph we hear of the middle-aged business owner going about his business selling ingredients to chefs and epicures and then the next paragraph that same chef is beheaded, nape first with a serrated knife to enhance discomfort his headless body strung up by one ankle from an electricity pylon where it swayed legs akimbo until the shoelace used instead of rope rotted and gave way, no one daring to cut him down before that...."
And then the paragraph following that event:
But even now the city's freewheeling virtual world stood in stark contrast to the day-to-day lives of most people, to those of young men, and especially of young women, and above all of children who went to sleep unfed but could see on some small screen people in foreign lands preparing and consuming and even conducting food fights with feasts of such opulence that the very fact of their existence boggled the mind.This paragraph, more than anything I have read or seen in the last ten years, brought home to me what it could be like to live in the virtual digital age in a third world country, or even anywhere other than our first world countries with their first world privileges. It was shocking to me, and both obscene and shameful.
On the other hand, I am pleased that Hamid has included the use of marijuana and mushrooms as normal, harmless activities in a land of constant threats of random violence and death... first of all because that's what modern young people do in real life regardless of where they are living, and secondly, because it should be what they are doing when their lives could be extinguished in the blink of an eye.
Janice(JG), that paragraph really hit me hard, too. love how Hamid can drop something like that into his gentle prose.
I loved that paragraph. I ultimately became annoyed with Nadia's pot use, but I would have felt 90% of the same annoyance if her choice had been cigarettes or whiskey.
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http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/17/d...
Video of the author speaking at DC’s Politics and Prose:
https://youtu.be/_xVM7xEMJPk
Interviewed by Nam Kiwanuka (Canadian media):
https://youtu.be/sGiyJM6c2Yw
I too love the section above, and this one, that's in a similar vein. Nadia is washing her clothes--at some risk--after a long time of travel.“What she was doing, what she had just done, was for her not about frivolity, it was about the essential, about being human, living as a human being, reminding oneself of what one was, and so it mattered, and if necessary was worth a fight.”
Columbus wrote: "Recent article in Foreign Policy magazine:http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/17/d...
Video of the author speaki..."
Can't wait to get to these--thanks!
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“What she was doing, what she had just done, was for ..."
I like how the author expresses in clear, vivid terms that when there is chaos all around you that people like Nadia and Saeed go on as “business as usual.”How important for there to be a sense of normalcy.
Columbus wrote: "Recent article in Foreign Policy magazine:http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/17/d...
Video of the author speaki..."
These are excellent. thanks very much for sharing them, Columbus!
Literary Fiction by People of Color
Books mentioned in this topic
The Leavers (other topics)What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (other topics)
Exit West (other topics)
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (other topics)
Exit West (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Percival Everett (other topics)Mohsin Hamid (other topics)
Mohsin Hamid (other topics)
Nadeem Aslam (other topics)
Kamila Shamsie (other topics)
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Why?
Well, maybe because it’s a finalist for the 2017 Kirkus Prize for Fiction which will be announced on Nov 2nd. Still not sure? Well, it’s also longlisted for the ALA Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, as well. Not enough? It was shortlisted for one the most prestigious literary awards of any kind, The Man Booker Award.
So come with us and discuss and experience one of the most talked about books of 2017. See ya 11/1/17!