The Exit West Novel by Mohsin Hamid - Book Report/Review Example

The exit west Novel The exit west novel was authored by Mohsin Hamid with the main focus of revealing the challenges the refugees face. The novel is centered on the life of two young couple named Nadia and Saeed who live in a city that is experiencing civil war. The two couples have different social philosophies. Nadia is more liberal while Saeed is conservative and lives with his parent at home. In their pursuit to seek refuge, the couple bribes the militant to use a fictitious door that lands them to Landon. More immigrants penetrate the door to London causing xenophobia among the natives and the immigrants (Hamid, 163). As a result, the refugees are taken to a ghetto where there are limited and underdeveloped social amenities like food and electricity. After their plan to clear migrant is aborted the native decide to work together with them. Meanwhile, the relationship between Nadia and Saeed continue to deteriorate. Nadia, therefore, convinces Saeed to use another portal that lands them to California. Saeed gets a job at a food coop and develops a romantic relationship with a preachers’ daughter leaving Nadia. Five decades later the two meet in their country of birth where Saeed they restart their life of romance. The author employs a brilliant approach to bring out the themes of love and unity, escape fear and religion clearly to build up the novel. The book exit west novel clearly outlays the theme of love and unity in all aspects of life that is within the family system, the society, and the national belief system. First, Saeed has developed strong family ties with his parent die to his conservative ideology. This family unity is the great reason Saeed chooses to help his father after being shot during the civil war as they were trying to escape. In their escape, the migrant has to navigate through countries with vast cultural rifts. While in London, after escaping using the fictitious door, the couple is forced to live to reconnect with other refugees from other countries around the globe. Unity between the refuges was essential with regards to the unwillingness among the natives to help them survive. It is due to the strong bond amongst the refugees that the natives plan to remove the refugees from London are thwarted (Hamid, 165). Saeed faces a lot of challenges in his quest to unite all refugees considering his deteriorating relationship with Nadia. Despite the struggle between Saeed and Nadia maintain their relationship bond they end up separating after Saeed developing the romantic relationship with a preacher’s daughter in while in California. Refugees have to move to foreign countries, different culture and sometimes gain a new identity in their quest to look for a peaceful place to settle. This trajectory contributes to destabilizing their old unions. The refugees are therefore forced to grow both individually and culturally during the immigration processes. When Saeed and Nadia arrive at Mykonos, they easily identify refugees from their country despite the diversity in the camp. The refugees living in the camp are forced by the circumstance to unite despite the diversity, the refugees learned to communicate with each other in English. People did not fear to express themselves due to the variation in English accent they had. Nadia enjoys the diversity existing within the camp, something that brings a crucial difference with Saeed. Saeed, as a conservative, is strongly bounded by his culture (Hamid, 106). The difference between the couple contributes to their separation and lack of romantic attachment between the two. Despite the denial and the foreseen end of the romantic relationship, both Nadia and Saeed struggle to end the connection between them. However, in the end, Nadia suggests that they should part ways. After a while, the two gradually see each other less. They begin to live independent lives. They again see each other after half a century in their native country The theme of escape is used by the author to reveal the circumstance under which the refugees leave their country or other reasons for migration. First Nadia and Saeed flee their country which is experiencing violent civil war using a fictitious portal. The portal has the ability to transport a person to any destination around the world (Hamid, 72). There are different forms of escape the author uses to reveal how the couple used to distract themselves from life reality/. Saeed and Nadia engage in recreational drugs and technology to separate themselves from each other and the world. For instance, they use their phones to access an invisible world. The book also explores other escape approaches that refugees use to avoid discontent and danger that they presently face. However, Saeed, unlike Nadia, prefers to confront the real situation he faces instead of getting absorbed in the alternate realities. The book outlines how the internet is used to help people escape from facing life's reality. For instance, Nadia prefer to use the internet to get to the far world and by watching videos on women activism, men copulating, wave tugging in the sand makes her avoid the reality in which people are killed for fleeing violence and hate ( Hamid, 43). People also use recreational drugs to enable them to escape from reality. The couple uses recreational drugs to overcome the violence and turmoil that surround them. Nadia, for instance, enjoys consuming marijuana while Saeed enjoys taking mushrooms. The drugs make them feel appeased and comfortable. The novel Exit west explores ways in which religion can be used to influence people’s behavior, beliefs, personality, and memories. Religion plays a significant role in making and breaking of Saeed and Nadia’s life. Saeed, for instance, uses religion to remember and pray for his family back home. Prayer provides him with the opportunity to reconnect with his past and recollect what he lost (Hamid, 209). Nadia, though he is not as spiritual as her husband, is always dressed in religious garbs to avoid unwanted advances. As a conservative, religion plays a critical role in shaping the social and cultural life of Saeed. He prays severally times a day which contributes to his spiritual growth and ability to remain faithful to the customs of his parents. .Religion also provides him with an alternative to regain his old life when experiencing xenophobia and hate. While staying in London, the natives were more hostile to the refugees. After understanding the people respect for religious custom, Nadia uses this to her advantage by putting on conservative clothing to protect herself from the world, yet she constantly lives an independent life smoking marijuana, engaging in casual sex etc. Fear is used extensively in the novel in al aspect from civil wars, xenophobic attack, and social separation. First, Saeed and Nadia are forced to escape from their home country following the breaking out of civil war. Upon arriving in London after using the portal they are welcomed by hostile government, natives and law enforcement. Staying with xenophobic residents’ causes fear to migrants such as Nadia and Saeed. There are anecdotes of violent protestors who view immigrants as threats because they can change the country’s value system (Parekh, 109). The author projects fear as the primary contributor of social division. However, this vice can be eliminated if the society not only learns to embrace diversity but also respect the social boundaries set by others In conclusion, Hamid uses various approaches and examples to build on the theme of love and unity, fear, religion, and escape. The story outlines the challenges immigrant face and the reason for the existence of refugees. The novel has majored on the life of the couple who are forced to escape from their motherland to foreign country due to civil war. Religion plays a key role in determining the cultural and social practices of these people. The author postulates the effect of fear on social development. Read More