Review: Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel Toronto: HarperAvenue/HarperCollins Canada , 2026 I am a fan if Mandel's literary universe, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to review her latest release, Exit Party, for The British Columbia Review. This article was originally published at The BC Review on September 10, 2026. *** Exit Party ’s opening chapter describes a party that has gone wrong. In Vancouver-based Emily St. John Mandel’s latest novel, forty-eight-year-old Ari Waker has just been released from an eighteen-year prison sentence for taking out a contract hit on her cousin a lifetime ago. While she was incarcerated, America collapsed and devolved into numerous self-governing territories, and the California Republic has just lifted its curfew after longstanding turmoil. To celebrate, Ari and her roommate Gloria are going to a party, where their host Kareem has decorated his apartment with flowers on every table and filled his space with party-goers heady with t...
