A certain section of the book Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, (from pages 199 to 202) holds a strong place in my head, even weeks after finishing the book. The lines in these pages keep coming back to me, they speak about why one of the protagonists Saeed feels praying is so important, why he prays so often and so much; how it all started from his childhood days. The passages are beautiful and believable.
Yes, the book has many negative reviews to its credit, thanks to few irrelevant sections early on in it that test a readers' patience. But if one were to see a book like a real living being, with a fair share of imperfections, Exit West would definitely pass with flying colors.
Saeed prayed as a child out of curiosity, seeing his parents pray. Entering his teens, he joined communal prayer for the first time with his dad, with entry into University he prayed more because his parents got old and prayed more often, he valued the discipline of praying, it was a code, a promise he had made and that he stood by. And when he lost his parents, he prayed even more, as a gesture of love for what had gone and could be loved in no other way. When he prayed he touched his parents .. beautiful lines and thoughts, right? Prayer as a lament, as a consolation, as hope; prayer in search of an invisible support system.
The importance I attach to praying also has increased over time, from being a pillar of support to being an answer to questions that seemingly have no answers at a certain point of time and certainly a way of feeling close to my maternal grandmother whom I love immensely, she passed away while I was in college.
Usually, I write a brief review of books I read and get done with it. But the interpretation of praying brought forward in this book touched me immensely that it deserved an entire post.
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