Hamid wrote it during the 2015 European refugee crisis and published it in 2017. It was clearly influenced by the Syrian crisis and that wave of migration. But Hamid leaves the country and time unnamed. The novel is about mass migration in general, a warning of the next, inevitable, and much larger wave, and that migration is a feature of today's world.
Hamid presents borders as increasingly futile and large-scale migration as a natural process that is meaningless to resist. He describes resistance in the receiving countries as based on irrational fear and tribalism. Hamid ignores all practical limitations like housing, schools, healthcare, and jobs.
It is well written and worth reading, but it will not enlighten you on migration policy. It stresses empathy while leaving solutions aside.
Hamid presents borders as increasingly futile and large-scale migration as a natural process that is meaningless to resist. He describes resistance in the receiving countries as based on irrational fear and tribalism. Hamid ignores all practical limitations like housing, schools, healthcare, and jobs.
It is well written and worth reading, but it will not enlighten you on migration policy. It stresses empathy while leaving solutions aside.
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