Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel, the author known for titles like Station Eleven, returns with another engrossing work of speculative fiction. Exit Party brings us the worst of both worlds as it explores two very different futuristic versions of a post-collapse United States.
The story opens in the year 2031 as a young woman, Ari, tries to convince her reclusive roommate to attend a party. Ari has just been released after serving 18 years in prison. The Republic of California just lifted its curfew. Peace seems like a possibility in Los Angeles, after war has torn through what was once the United States of America, causing multiple secessions and unrest as militias make the rules.
The party-goers seek a semblance of normalcy in this strange new version of their country, but at the party, something even stranger happens. Guests seem to duplicate, doppelgangers appearing and disappearing throughout the night. Shortly after, the party’s host disappears and is never seen again. Or at least, not in this world.
Duality of Worlds and Women
Broken into three main parts, Exit Party plays on the theme of duality and parallels two opposing versions of a post-collapse United States. In “Side A,” we are in a version of the U.S. that is no longer united. Instead, states have broken off and formed their own nations. There are no rules. Nothing is safe. Crime runs rampant. Chaos rules.
Luckily, Ari understands chaos better than stability. She has never shied away from a life of crime. She isn’t afraid to leave her old life behind and start over, moving through major cities and lovers like she is trying on lives. Still, the night of that party sticks with her.
In “Side B,” we see a completely different version of the U.S. In this alternate reality, the United States is no longer ‘states’ but has become the United State, a strict totalitarian surveillance state that feeds off of distrust and self-preservation. People are recruited into the service, where neighbors report on neighbors, wives on husbands, and kids on parents.
In this version, we meet Ibari, a top-tier service agent who has spent her life spying on people, reporting any suspicious activity, and investigating any sign of unrest.
Both worlds and both women are two sides of the same coin. The story shows the two extremes a country can turn to through the lens of two women who mysteriously seem to have more in common than what meets the eye.
Art as a Common Thread
In this fast-paced novel, there isn’t much to hold on to. Things change quickly. The story spans decades, defying time, space, and reality as we know it. Characters come and go, worlds collide, and perspectives shift dramatically. One object serves as a connecting thread, tying each element of the story together. A painting titled “Swan Dive.”
“Swan Dive” is a touchpoint connecting the two realities and often bringing the many characters together. Characters pause from their tiresome reality to contemplate the art. It becomes a source of fascination. Proof of a feeling or of a person that has been lost.
In both worlds, we see how art can still hold such significance, even when all else has been lost. It brings an immense humanity to the story. Even when our world is turned upside down, our relationship to art still shapes us. We still use art to find a way to understand life.
A Product of Post-Collapse
Mandel’s characters are all products of the post-collapse world they inhabit. The complete chaos of anarchy either causes a person to crumble or to take their chances. The totality of totalitarianism creates an exhausting environment where one must always calculate the cost of their next move.
Exit Party is uncanny, distorted, unsettling, and completely engrossing. Mandel creates a web of characters and events that tumble together in a complex tale. You will be glued to the page, wondering how you would fit in such a reality, asking yourself what that kind of world would make of you.
About Emily St. John Mandel:
Emily St. John Mandel’s seventh novel, Exit Party, will be published in September 2026. Her previous novels include Sea of Tranquility, which has been translated into 25 languages and was selected by President Barack Obama as one of his favourite books of 2022; The Glass Hotel, which was also on Obama’s list, was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and has been translated into 26 languages; and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award among other honours, has been translated into 37 languages, and aired as a limited series on HBO Max. She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.
