Digital Screens and National Divides in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West

This article considers the relationship between national borders as divisive screens and screen-based technology in Mohsin Hamid's Exit West. I argue that Hamid critiques digital technology and portrays digital technology users and refugees alike as present without presence. They live as connected to and yet disconnected from one another, their homes, and the nations to which they migrate. Ultimately, Hamid sees digital art and novels about digital culture as affording perspectives that toxic forms of digital technology do not. The perspectives these works afford create hope for a socially just future of meaningful interconnection.