Bienvenidos a Occidente | 
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
“We are all migrants through time.”
This book is proof that a novel doesn‘t have to be long to make an impact. The magical realism element was smart & thoughtful - ripe for analysis & discussion. A lot of the writing is lovely & really resonates, but sometimes the long run-on sentences felt tedious to me. Still, it‘s a very worthwhile inquiry of the global refugee crisis & the migration experience, appealing to the humanity in us all.
pickA unique approach to a story of migration, refugees. Not so much a portal fantasy as a quiet meditation on how the world might or might not change, how people might or might not change, if doors opened into other parts of our world, rather than onto other worlds.
For all that an event like that could be considered large scale, the story itself feels small-scale in its focus primarily on two individuals. 1/?
pickI liked the matter of fact tone, both about war & immigration, and the doors. It made the magical realism work and kept this from being dark fantasy. In the end I found it hopeful. And the narration was excellent.
pickA very odd, disconcerting novel. Structurally ambitious and melancholy.
pickSadly, the backlog in my TBR pile is at least 5 years old, but glad I got to this one (I‘d even forgot he signed it!). I haven‘t read his latest, but this one‘s my favorite, so far.
pickThis book was recommended through one of my reading journals and I was so very glad I picked this title up. The writing is beautiful and the story is quite the page turner.
pickI listened to the audiobook of this via my library app.
3.75/5
pickA lovely book recommended by my lovely fiancée @Caterina . Absolutely lovely, an inspiring and hopeful tale. A touching and heart-wrenching romance. A shining example of modern magical realism.
so-soRefugees from a war-torn country try to escape to a safer place through magical doors. The fantastical element was told in such a matter-of-fact way that I had to reread it to make sure I didn‘t miss something. Saeed & Nadia are interesting, but the author has a way of keeping the reader at arm‘s length & I never felt connected to them. There are also interlude sections that felt unnecessary. An interesting premise, but I wanted more.
so-soNot bad but not that great either mainly because there is not a constant pace in the story and some time this makes it difficult to get the point the authors is trying to make. #2022
pickI thought this was beautifully written! The matter of fact voice that Hamid uses underscores the banality of war in so many regions around the world. This is contrasted with the love story between Saeed and Nadia, and the magical portals they use to escape their situation. This book wasn‘t as heavy on the fantasy as I expected, and was much more about how migration impacts personal relationships, communities and the world at large. Brilliant!
pickMy 100th book of 2021! I wanted to try to read 100 books this year and I got there a whole week early! :) I enjoyed this gentle tale of love and change. Seems fitting somehow for everything the world is going through right now. Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄 May you have lots of time to sit and read today. ✨
Ahhh I‘m so excited about everything you sent for #fallingforfallswap #fffs, @Amiable ! Especially those cozy socks and that bookmark! I love dragons 🐉
Thank you so much, and thank you @Avanders for organizing this amazing swap!
pickThis is a refugee story with a lot of heart. It‘s a strong dose of reality tempered by some magical realism. Unique and delicately told, Hamid also does a great job with the audiobook narration. Short but mighty.
Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2021 #pakistan #readingasia2021
pickI didn‘t write a review for this book when I read it at the start of the month, but I thought it was a gentle story about loss, love and the experiences of refugees. This is exactly how I like my magical realism to be. 4⭐️ This was my #DoubleSpin pick for June! @TheAromaofBooks
bailedI really wanted to like this. The premise of taking magical doorways to escape a war torn home sounded great but I just couldn‘t finish it. It felt like not much happened. His voice was great but it felt like he went on a lot of tangents. 🤷🏻♀️ Made it to 40% on the #audiobook. #bailed
#MayCharacters Day 21: To avoid #malicious characters, an Exit West is necessary. Still have not read this novel. Hopefully, soon.
I enjoy listening to audiobooks on my drive to work but admit I get distracted at times and loose the thread!
I am loving this audiobook. Read by the author Mohsin Hamish it is mesmerising!! His writing is beautiful but his voice is sublime..deep, rich (sexy) I could listen to him all day 🎧
I am only half way but I think it‘s a winner❣️
#audiobook #literature
so-soSo.... I was really just Meh on this book. I audio‘d it, so listened to the author‘s own presentation ... and just.... meh. I liked the concept. A lot. And I liked the real-life war, displacement, and love story. But I felt that they just weren‘t combined to their best effect, leaving both feeling... meh. Not bad, just meh. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Also, this is 💯 me today. 🥱🥱😴
Oh & I mailed my #HappilyEverAfterSwap package today! #HEAS #HEA #HappilyEverAfter
Sunday view. Halfway through this one. Hoping to finish it tonight to stay on track for my #joyousjanuary readathon goals. The story is hitting me pretty hard right now though in a way I didn't expect it to.
Okay I'm diving in to #joyousjanuary readathon and feeling ambitious! My goal is to finish these 5 library books that are due back soon! I read one this morning which means I only have 4 to go. 🙌🏻 Bonus goal: read at least 1 book to fit a #booked2021 prompt! Let's read! 📚
@Andrew65
Waiting at the library to pick up our books. Boy, do we miss browsing but I'm very grateful for the no contact pick up and the hard work our librarians do to get us the books we need during these challenging times. ❤️❤️❤️
11/16-11/20
Focus on the Author
What do you notice about the writing - the way the author wrote? (For example: Is it descriptive, persuasive? Does it include figurative language?)
11/16-11/20
Keeping Language in mind:
Did the author use language to create a feeling or picture in your mind? What words did the author use and how did s/he create this picture in your mind?
10/26-10/30
Non-Fiction: What confused you about what you read? As you read further did your confusion dissipate? Why or why not?
Fiction: *focus on Character*: Which character taught you the most? What did they teach you?
panAgghhh. This book was such a disappointment. The concept - refugees escaping through magic doors - was awesome but it wasn‘t well executed. I didn‘t care about the characters at all and they felt very two dimensional. At least it was a quick read, in part due to the author‘s inability to use full stops. This was a page picked at random, with only two full stops on the page, which was not unusual.
10/13-10/16
Fiction: *Think about Plot* What lesson does this story teach about life? How does it teach it?
Non-Fiction: Do you feel like the author is believable? Does he/she write with any bias? Explain.
10/13-10/16
Fiction: *Thinking about Setting* In another time or place, how would the story change? Where else could the story take place?
Non-Fiction: How is the book/text you read today structured? Why do you think the author choose to do it that way?
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved it! His writing is so beautiful. I'm very proud of myself for listening to an audio book, albeit a short one. I really wasn't expecting one particular element of the book, but once I got used to it, it was fine. Some great imaginings of a slightly alternative type of world.
So anyone who "knows" me on Litsy and has ever bothered to pay attention might know that I never listen to audio books! But this was on Overdrive - not the ebook - and I'm giving it a shot. I'm finding the writing beautiful and his voice (the author) very soothing ?
so-soHad some interesting parts. Did not hold my interest very well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I finished four books in July, two fiction and two nonfiction. I really liked both fiction books and highly recommend them. The nonfiction books didn't quite land as well for me. #JulyWrapUp #MonthlyWrapUp
“...both would also wonder if this meant that they had made a mistake, that if they had but waited and watched their relationship would have flowered again, and so their memories took on potential, which is of course how our greatest nostalgias are born.”
Is the distanced, old-fashioned omniscient narrator that‘s problematic? Some beautiful lines, but feels stilted. I WANT TO LOVE THIS BOOK.
so-soNadia & Saeed are students in an unnamed city under siege. Saeed is devout and introspective, Nadia fiercely independent. Under escalating violence, they flee their homeland through one of many portal doors. Buffeted, baffling isolation & stress of the immigrant experience. A travelogue of searching for home. Magical realism switch after realist setup was jarring (as for lovers?). Gorgeous prose. Nostalgia, loss, coupling. Wanted to love. 2017
pickJust finished this audio. The author narrates this tale of refugees haltingly, which adds to the atmosphere created by the sparse prose. It‘s a love story where the lovers are uprooted from home, cling to each other and reminders of home, but new the new life takes them in different directions. It also depicts the “native” response to the migrant refugees as well. #bbrc #growup #muslimmaincharacter #bookspinbingo
Gonna try to start my 2nd #bookspin pic after work tonight.
pickI'm not normally a reader who pays much attention to prose, but the prose in this book is phenomenal. Every word is precisely chosen to evoke meaning and sentiment. It felt rich, like a good dessert, and I found myself reading it in short sections because gorging on it would be too much.
It's a beautiful book and I highly recommend it.
#ReadHarder2020: A book by or about a refugee #ReadHarder
“...the apocalypse appeared to have arrived and yet it was not apocalyptic, which is to say that while the changes were jarring they were not the end, and life went on, and people found things to do and ways to be and people to be with, and plausible desirable futures began to emerge, unimaginable previously, but not unimaginable now, and the result was something not unlike relief.“
