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' The Hindu' Newspaper of 14092017 from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India had conveyed the news that 'Exit West', a novel by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid had won a
place in the Man Booker Prize shortlist for 2017.
The judges observed that the novel was emotionally intelligent, clear
and crisp. Baroness Lola Young, head of the judging panel said that the
protagonists were two of the many millions of people ready to sacrifice what
they had for what they might gain, even as they recognised what they were losing
Excited by the news I did a research in the Internet to learn more on the novel. What is presented here is from posts by multiple writers. I am quoting what I have gathered and I am grateful to all those who have posted their reviews.
Emily May wrote, “When we
migrate, we murder from our lives those we leave behind.”
Exit West is a novel published in 2017, written by Pakistani
author Mohsin
Hamid. This is Hamid's fourth novel.
The novel is about a young couple, Saeed and Nadia, who live in
an unnamed city undergoing civil war and finally have to flee, using a system
of fictitious doors, which lead to different locations around the globe
Nadia and Saeed meet when they are working
students. Saeed is more conservative and still lives at
home, as custom generally requires, but the more independent Nadia has chosen
to live alone and has been disowned by her parents for doing so. As war breaks
out and militants begin attacking the city, the two fall in love. After a
random bomb kills Saeed's mother, Nadia moves in with Saeed and his father,
despite not wanting to marry Saeed as propriety requires.
As the militants successfully wrest control of
the city from the government and violence becomes an every day part of life,
Nadia and Saeed begin chasing rumours that there are doors in the city that
serve as portals to other locations. Although most of the doors are guarded by
militants they manage to bribe their way through a door eventually leaving
behind Saeed's father who does not wish to be a burden to them and asks Nadia
to promise him never to leave Saeed until they are settled.
The door they go through takes them to Mykonos where they are among many refugees and
settle in a tent city. They eventually obtain the compassion of a local Greek
girl who has a rapport with Nadia and helps the two go through a recently
discovered door which leads to a luxury home in London. Nadia and Saeed settle
in the home and eventually they, and other migrants, settle in the home
claiming it from its owners.
As more migrants penetrate London, hostility
between them and the native-born increase, including attacks and mob rule. The
migrants are eventually sectioned off in a ghetto with minimal food and
electricity called "Dark London". After a raid to clear out migrants
goes wrong, native London decides to try to work together with the new migrants
and puts them to work clearing the land for Halo London, a city surrounding
London-proper, with the promise that they will be given 40 acres and a pipe i.e. a small plot of land and access to utilities. Nadia
and Saeed throw themselves into the work as they feel themselves growing apart
from each other.
Although the couple are on a list that puts
them among the first to obtain a secure home, Nadia convinces Saeed to leave
through another portal and they eventually take their chance arriving in Marin County, California. They find they are generally welcome there and Nadia finds
work at a food co-op while Saeed becomes more and more religious. Eventually,
realizing that they no longer have any feelings for one another, Nadia leaves
Saeed and moves into a room at the co-op eventually beginning a relationship
with a cook who works there. Saeed meanwhile marries the native-born daughter
of a preacher.
Fifty years later Nadia returns to the country
of her birth and meets up with Saeed who offers to one day take her to see the
stars in Chile.
