Fiction Pick of the Week: "Exist West [Excerpt]"
An excerpt from Hamid's latest novel: a man and a woman caught in between escape and uncertainty.
An excerpt from Hamid's latest novel: a man and a woman caught in between escape and uncertainty.
Mohsin Hamid Granta Magazine Mar 2017 Permalink
A trip to the country turns into nightmare beset by mysterious creatures and body transformations.
"When we went over to look at the creature, it was mostly flattened. It looked like a crow, except the feathers had fallen off its back. Underneath, the flesh was scaly and pink. The exposed skin was split in half by a row of translucent spikes. The spikes were moving slightly, pointing first in this direction, then in that. The smell made me wrinkle my nose. It was an oddly sweet smell to find outdoors, like an open vat of lollipop flavoring."
Lincoln Michel Granta Magazine Aug 2015 30min Permalink
A girl kidnaps a mysterious figure.
"What has he spared me, this Enzo Ponza? What, with his constant presence, has he prevented happening in my life, and what, if anything, has he caused to happen? Does he care for me, my mother, my children? Is he escaping something, or is he just biding his time? Why has he never once asked to leave? And why did I never investigate whether he had any living relatives to whom I could send a ransom note?"
Joanna Walsh Granta Magazine Jun 2015 Permalink