Exit West

The other night I had a dream that I found an Exit West activity book at an amusement park gift shop. That would be a ridiculous book tie-in (or theme ride) but I take Valerian root to sleep and my dreams are bananas. My dreams are like starring in a David Lynch movie every night.

I guess you could make it a maze book as Exit West is about a couple of refugees that go through a "magic door" to a less war-torn country (it feels like early days of Syria--but it could be anywhere in the middle east).  The book does not focus on the magic door at all but on the couple's struggles. I'm kind of curious about these doors though. I would love to go all over the world without flying. Sign me up. I'm not scared to fly but I don't like that parched creepy airplane feeling.  My body is like: We are not normally up at this hour. Why is this stranger so close to us?  We're thirsty but we don't want to pee in that closet. What is that kid doing? We don't normally have heartburn but on vacation all bets are off. We want beer when we land. When do we land?

Exit West really focuses on our couple and their relationship. But that's a little boring. Living as a refugee after going through a magic door is interesting. I'm not interested in your intimacy problems. In fact, I'm very rarely interested in characters intimacy problems. I think I watched too much Donahue with my Mom when I was a kid.  I remember it's about communication people...and hitting yourself in the head with a microphone in frustration.       

The part about being a refugee is intriguing as it is certainly not a typical novel topic, at least the long awful transition. Most books have a big sea voyage and it stunk and it was hard for a bit but then the kid won a contest and then the plot moves forward. Exit West is a good book but certainly not a fun book so consider yourself warned.

The drinks are sporadic in this book but this is a good late summer-early fall transition drink:  Hard Cider Sangria: (Makes 4) 1 cup of apples thinly sliced with peel on, one orange sliced, 1 cup apple juice, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 cup apple brandy and one 22 ounce bottle of hard cider. Combine everything but the cider in large pitcher. Just before serving add the cider and serve over ice.