Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

How wonderful it is to finish a wonderful book and the same night hear an intelligent and articulate author speak about it. I must admit from the initial articles that I had read about the book, I was a little hesitant to dive right in. It seemed that in addition to being a contemporary set novel Exit West involved a bit of fantasy and suspended reality. It was good that I put those thoughts aside. 

Saeed and Nadia are the protagonists in the novel. As Hamid explained at the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures talk, he was certain that Saeed would be the main character, but as the book progressed, that designation really alternated with him. It is up to the reader to determine the status of each. Saeed and Nadia meet at a class in corporate branding in an country and city unnamed in the book It is "the city of their birth."  Their relationship grows amidst the violence and terror that overtakes that city. Nadia is an outwardly strong willed woman who has left her parents' home and lives by herself. Saeed, on the other hand, is an inwardly strong person who is devout and resides with his parents. He vows to be chaste until marriage in spite of Nadia's overtures. They talk of travel and adventure and what the dreams of the future.

Mohsin Hamid signing my copy of Exit West

After Saeed's mother is shot by a stray bullet, the two realize that it would be best to leave their native country, even if it means leaving Saeed's father behind. With homage to C.S. Lewis and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the two, with the help of an agent, pass through a black door and find themselves on Mykonos in a refugee camp. They decide to play tourist until Nadia has a fall and they meet up with a nurse who shows them another door. Passing through it brings them to London. The arrive at a mansion that has become home to Nigerians, Guatemalans, Indonesians. Nadia is energized by these migrants, but Saeed seeks out other refugees from his native land. It is apparent to the reader that the once destined to be married couple was experiencing growth in their character that would pull them apart. They work on a construction site as they listen and prepare for the nativists to begin a full scale massacre of the refugees. Their final move brings them to Marin County, California. They are honest with each other about their feelings and beliefs while living in a shantytown. 

Hamid builds the two characters' personalities with an amazing craft. Although both are very strong people, they exhibit that differently. Both characters change throughout the course of the book, but in an expected way, not veering from the deep-set fundamentals that make them individuals.  

Central to the novel is the theme of migration and Hamid explained this in his lecture. "We are all migrants through time," he remarks. And it is the right of people to migrate. When that is impeded, there is sure to be an autocracy. But Hamid is a hopeful person and one. Through their journey Saeed sees it as losing the past, but Nadia as looking to the future. So much more could be written on Exit West. It is one of those books that resonates in your brain as you reflect on what you have read. Definitely, one of the best books I have experienced in a long while.

Dead Wake by Erik Larsen

Dead Wake is Erik Larsen's account of the last voyage of the Lusitania. Just like the Titanic, the Lusitania was a luxurious ocean liner that met its demise on the high seas. It was sunk by a man-made torpedo and not an iceberg in nature. But their stories have similar elements. Surrounding both tragedies are so many "what ifs" and unheeded warnings. 

The book begins as preparations for the voyage are being made in New York. The reader begins to meet passengers, learn the reasons for their sailing, and the work of Captain Thomas Turner. Then the action shifts to a German U-20 submarine where Captain Walther Schwieger is introduced. Despite his orders to watch for cargo ships that may be about to invade from the North Sea, he was also presented as a kind and pleasant may. The young man, Winston Churchill and his advisers waver on the protection of the Lusitania as a means to draw the United States into the war. Woodrow Wilson, an isolationist, is distracted by his love for Edith Galt and is adamant that his country would not be so enticed. Other well drawn characters that appear as major persons in the book are Charles Lauriat of book store fame and Theodate Pope, an eccentric but talented architect, suffragette, and spiritualist. 

As the ocean liner crosses the Atlantic, the reader is well aware of the fate that will befall it as it nears the coast of Ireland. The description of the torpedoing and the subsequent sinking are dramatically told. The loss of life, the rescues, and the theories as to what happened are articulated in riveting descriptive chapters. Even in the 21st century, the actual events have been topics of discussion and scrutiny.


Erik Larsen is one of the most engaging authors of our time. His books are researched to a degree that is almost unbelievable. He manages to write history with the aplomb of writing a novel. This book is no exception and can keep one turning the pages to discover what will happen, even tho the turn of events are known by all.