Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

3 reviews

undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore and Excrement

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Rating: 3/5 stars

Nadia and Saeed flee their war-torn nation through a magical door that can help people travel long distances.

I buddy read this one with my friend Hannah and our conversation about it was…probably my favorite part of the read. This wasn’t bad, exactly, but I never really got pulled into the story, and I found myself feeling like this book was trying to make deep points with meaningfully political commentary, yet none of it was landing for me. I couldn’t even tell you what I thought the main philosophical/intellectual takeaways from this were, which is never a great sign.

That said, this is a very short read, and others might find more to connect with! For me, I wanted to see the magical realism element explored a LOT more, and wanted more plot points that grabbed me and made me feel emotionally connected with the story.

CW: Violence/war/blood; death of parent; xenophobia/racism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

sydapel's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Stunningly intimate writing that describes a society that feels foreign and yet darkly prescient, I have that empty-yet-full feeling I often get when I finish a book like this. Often, I am annoyed with literary fiction authors who try to comment on too much within a book, but Hamid manages to discuss war, refugees, capitalism, religion, family dynamics, the collapse of society, climate change and probably more that went straight over my head, all within the core story of a relationship that will remain with me for awhile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent