The Magic Barrel – 5/5 Stars This story collection came out in 1959 and contains the well known title story, but also has several other very good stories. It won the National Book Award as well. As I have previously stated in reviews, the age of the writer (here in a kind of debut effort) lends itself to an already mature and thoughtful work (this was also true for many of Raymond Chandler’s stories as well as the story collection A Lucky Man by Jamel […]
We are all migrants through time
I found Exit West by Mohsin Hamid through two different sources. First, it was on President Obama’s 2017 recommended reading list. This was already more than enough incentive for me to start reading, but it was also on NPR’s Best Books of 2017, which has become one of my favorite sources for finding new books. Before I began reading, I only had the vague notion that this was a story about refugees, which seems especially relevant in today’s world. I was expecting a humanizing story of the danger […]
A magical unresolution to refugee realities
Another great pick from my Internations bookclub, Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West left me with seriously mixed feelings. On the one hand, I love books that make me question my own paradigms and face my short comings, and this book has definitely scored high points in this category. I also enjoyed the way the author escapes from the commonplace formula of boy meets girl – boy falls in love with girl – they overcome difficulties of their own doing and live happily ever after. Nothing of the sort […]
Another Book That Won’t Be on President Trump’s Nightstand (But Should Be!)
It might seem odd that in cities teetering at the edge of the abyss young people still go to class—in this case an evening class on corporate identity and product branding—but that is the way of things, with cities as with life, for one moment we are pottering about our errands as usual and the next we are dying and our eternally impending ending does not put a stop to our transient beginnings and middles until the instant when it does (3-4). This passage, written […]
Clever unforgettable post 9/11 tale, from the “other” side
With all that is going on in our world, and specifically in our country due to the orange baboon in charge, my friend and I decided we wanted to do something to educate ourselves, specifically regarding Muslim people. Sort of a “fight the piles of ignorance with education” personal growth assignment. I came across an article via lithub that gave 10 contemporary books to read, so we both took a look. She narrowed down the list to a few, and then I made the final call. […]
A heartbreaking work of beautiful writing
Have you ever read a book right after it was published and realized that this book was meant to be read right now, right at this time, and that it speaks powerfully about what is unfolding around the world? I don’t think it’s an accident that Mohsin Hamid is writing about refugees fleeing their native country which has crumbled, or that he speaks to the family ties that we forge and break from this kind of global uncertainty. I was surprised by this short novel, […]