A few weeks ago, I read Anna Quindlen's “Miller’s Valley,” which explored the theme of home and what to do when a home is lost. This week I encountered a book with similar themes, though it was vastly different in content.
The novel “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid deals with a loss of home on a global scale. In it, a couple flees from an unnamed country due to a civil war. The novel begins as a love story, detailing how Nadia and Saeed meet and share their everyday lives.
However, as the conditions become worse in their country, Nadia and Saeed’s lives change and the novel begins to tackle the larger picture of what it means to leave one’s home behind and how much that can change people.
Nadia, more independent and headstrong than Saeed, lives alone at the beginning of the novel. Though she wears a black robe, she is not religious, and when Saeed asks her why she wears it, she tells him it's to keep men from bothering her.
Unlike Nadia, Saeed is religious and lives with his parents. Initially, Nadia is cautious about committing fully to Saeed, but when the violence in their city becomes too dangerous, she and Saeed ultimately make the difficult decision to find refuge in another country.
Rather than detail the hardships Nadia and Saeed face as they travel from their home country to Greece, then to England, then to the U.S., Hamid uses the concept of a seemingly magical door that transports them from place to place.
Hamid also sprinkles in anecdotes about the lives of other people in the world. Some of these characters also use magical doors to escape from the harsh realities of their lives, but others simply have everyday experiences.
Given that there are wars happening now that are similar to what Nadia and Saeed experience in their own country, this book is extremely relevant. I think many Americans have misconceptions about refugees, but this book provides insight on the psychological repercussions they face as they travel from their homes.
In a perfect world, Nadia and Saeed’s relationship would grow stronger after enduring so much together. But as Nadia and Saeed adjust to what has become of their lives, they begin to change. “Exit West,” explores what happens when two people are thrown together and what they must do afterward to survive.
Though it is subtle, the novel is touching. It provides insight to humanity and how all people have similarities though they may come from completely different places.
What struck me most about the novel was that Nadia and Saeed did not blame the natives of the countries they traveled to even though they faced hostility and danger.
Even though at times the future looks bleak for the characters, the novel provides a sense of hope that many will find comforting given the current state of the world.
