Exit West is not your typical story of refugees, war, or even love. It subverts every expectation and provides a raw glimpse into the reality behind migration and escapism, both literal and psychological.
The novel starts off “in a city swollen by refugees,” and on the brink of a civil war as the author Mohsin Hamid first introduces the two main characters Saeed and Nadia. It’s interesting to note here Hamid’s implementation of selective naming: while he chooses names for the two protagonists, he never reveals the identity of the city of origin, the city that breaks into civil war. And in a recent keynote lecture, when I asked why this is, he responded that the intentional namelessness allows readers to interpret and envision the setting and motifs for themselves. However, it was imperative to give Saeed and Nadia specific names because they are like two intertwined threads as readers are able to follow their journey and narrative more intimately. Nevertheless, despite the ambiguity surrounding the city of origin, Hamid admits that the novel was first inspired by his hometown Lahore, Pakistan, and his fear that one day, a calamity will occur forcing him and his family to flee.
Soon, in the novel, it is made obvious that Saeed and Nadia fall in love, in fact, a first love of sorts, in a tense and dangerous time when attachments and relationships are unfavorable. As the war brews on, intensifying with each passing day, they collectively decide to leave their hometown behind, through a magic door and portal, transporting them to Mykonos. Yet before they leave, Nadia makes a promise to Saeed’s father that she will stay with Saeed regardless of the circumstances until they are both safe and settled. And with that, the motif of obligation and escapism is presented.
As the two main characters transport around the world through hidden magical doors from Mykonos to London and eventually to Marlin County in California, escaping the unwelcoming authorities and war and searching for a place to settle down, their romantic relationship begins to unravel due to an enforced proximity whether it is in their mansion room in London or their shanty town in Marlin County. In part, they remain together despite their friction because of a feeling of isolation in each new, foreign home they encounter and also because of Nadia’s obligation to fulfill her promise. Thus, the novel shifts from a story of first love to a story about letting go. Hamid remarks that the novel constantly circumscribes the question: “how do you leave well… even let go well?” It is never easy relinquishing a connection with a person’s hometown or with a first infatuation, and this fluidity between the states of with and without isn’t natural or inherent. Hamid specifically pointed out in his lecture that there is a prevalent and contemporary illness plaguing our world today, and it is nostalgia, a longing for past wisdom and circumstances. Nostalgia is dangerous because it fosters a dependency on the past as people cling on to the impossible, and in Saeed and Nadia’s case, they are desperately clinging on to the hope that they will fall back in love again even after changing so much from their journey together.
Ultimately, Saeed and Nadia part ways, finding love elsewhere, proving that this story isn’t about happy endings or enduring adoration. It’s about reality and moving on, and even if the motifs of physical migration, war, and refugees aren’t directly prevalent in the readers’ lives, Hamid makes a point that we are all “migrants through time.” Whether it’s from youth to old age, through college and love, the universal principle holds true: no one can hold onto the moment as each life is a journey of migration. Thus, through this worldwide phenomenon of interconnectedness between Mykonos, London, and the United States and the label of being immigrant or native, Exit West establishes that we are all one and the same: migrants, trekking through time, immersing ourselves in the moment, and forfeiting the past in an effort to cope with the future.
Post-reading Discussion questions:
(Comment your thoughts and answers, and Reply to other comments you like!)
What is an instance in your life in which you had to leave or let go?
Do you agree that in a way, relationships (romantic, familial, professional, etc.) are an obligation or a fulfillment of a promise?
What are the parallels between the magical portals in the novel Exit West and the portal of time?
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