Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

3 reviews

lawbooks600's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Score: Five out of ten.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is like a novel wrapped in incoherent and incorrect English where the first half is incredible but the second is a letdown. I remember reading a blurb saying Exit West meets An American Marriage, so after an entire year and a few months, I read Exit West, ignoring the low ratings, but it was underwhelming.

It starts with Saeed and Nadia living in an unnamed city in an unnamed country in a civil war that grows closer the more pages I read. Saeed and Nadia (who are already in a romantic relationship) have to flee, beginning the second half of the narrative, but Exit West is no ordinary refugee story. Do they cross countries or get on a boat? No, rather they discover a magical black door that can take them to any country in the world, so they enter it and land in Greece.

However, they discover another door so they can travel to America, London in the UK, and finally, Marrakech in Morocco. Sounds tedious? It is. If the only problem in Exit West are those doors, then I would be done with this review, but I'm not done. These doors represent an effortless way out, which misrepresents refugee experiences. In reality, some survive but have to face challenges. Some die, and no refugee has the privilege of teleporting out of their country. The characters are difficult to relate with, but adding depth could improve the reading experience. 

The most frustrating aspect are the run-on sentences. Hamid, have you heard of splitting sentences? That could help. One sentence lasted for one page and a few lines, so imagine reading that. This creation attempts a heartwarming conclusion with Saeed and Nadia in Marrakech together, but I didn't think they had chemistry. Exit West is another disappointing piece of literary fiction, so my search for an enjoyable one continues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

Full trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, physical assault and injury, fire, death of people in an explosion, refugee experiences, displacement, drug use, racism, white supremacy, xenophobia, blood, grief and loss depiction

peachmoni's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Islamophobia

Minor: Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

moonytoast's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

“we are all migrants through time.”

maybe would’ve rated this higher if there weren’t sentences verging on seven or more lines long…. if it would necessitate a block quote, it shouldn’t be a single sentence! trust me, this is coming from a resident long sentence girlie who constantly got feedback about how long my sentences were in my essays for high school. 

all in all though, this was a nice read and an interesting examination of how magical realism could impact our world’s sociopolitical climate and policies (i.e. nativism and immigration politics).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury