Exit West: A Novel

Something felt a bit lackluster in this book. Loved the concept of combining the migrant story with the hope for something better being possible through the addition of magical realism, but the story dragged now and then. Some beautiful poetic passages can be found throughout, though. Would've been three stars, but unlike some reviews I've seen, I actually liked the lack of a happy or sad ending and brought up my rating.

This book was acctually so good read it

I loved the style in which this book is written. It’s very dry, yet poetic and thought provoking. I thought there would be more to the story, but it is still haunting and I think will stick with me for a while.

Read by the author, this audiobook provided a window into the actual life of refugees. It was an eye opening novel, full of the reality of life in a war torn locale, yet lyrical and quite poetic.

"In this group, everyone was foreign. And so, in a sense, no one was." Follows Nadia and Saeed as they move from courtship to lovers to displaced migrants due to war. The normalness of life before the beginning of the conflict bleeds into the difficulties they each face and the courage necessary for survival. "The end of the world can be cozy at times." This is a love story told intimately and with intensity. However, equally intimate and intense is the harshness of their experience as they are forced out of their homeland and away from everything and everyone they hold dear. We are brought into their new world, where they navigate interactions with others displaced, and readjust to the sameness and the changes in their own relationship. The prose is stunning and beautiful. Definitely one of the best books I have read this year.