Mohsin Hamid made huge waves with his 2017 novel Exit West. Now, his award-winning novel is getting another round of hype as the Obamas announced their plans to adapt the book for Netflix.
His books, journalistic essays, and poetry have been translated into about 40 different languages and read by millions all over the world.
In addition to fiction, Hamid also contributed numerous essays for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy magazine. In fact, the latter named him one of the world’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers.
Mohsin Hamid’s literary legacy
While Exit West earned the attention of former U.S. President, Hamid already knew literary success. His first novel, Moth Smoke, published in 2000, tells of a man’s rugged journey through the post-nuclear world. It was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and even adapted into an operetta in Italian theater.
Moreover, Hamid’s second book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, narrates the story a Pakistani immigrant after the 9/11 attacks who must contend with his loyalty to the U.S. and his home country. This book earned a spot of the New York Times Best Seller List and awards such as the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Asian American Literary Award.
His third novel, however, reimagines the lines between fiction and nonfiction. Told in the second person, How to Get Filthy Rich is Rising Asia makes “you” the protagonist in the ambitious journey for love and wealth.
Foundations of success
Hamid was born to a Punjabi and Kashmiri family. He spent half of his early life in the U.S. and the other half in Lahore, Pakistan. There, he attended the Lahore American School.
Next, Hamid attended Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for undergrad. Finally, he continued on to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1997.
After rerouting his law interests from corporate to consulting, Hamid earned a few months off each year. With this time, he wrote Moth Smoke.
“Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid heads to Netflix
Hamid’s newest novel Exit West caught the eye of millions of readers, including Barack and Michelle Obama. Their production company, Higher Ground, is adapting the book into a Netflix moving, said to star Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed.
Set in an unnamed city experiencing civil war, Exit West describes the story of a couple in love who are fleeing their home through a series of magical transports. Playing off epic migration crises, the readers explore young couple’s yearning for a country they may never see again.
Learn more about Exit West and Mohsin Hamid’s other works here.
