Every Exit Brings You Home: A Novel

by Naeem Murr

A profound, bittersweet portrait of a Gazan immigrant’s heroic efforts to heal his community and birth love from tragedy.


Readers are rarely lukewarm on Naeem Murr’s work, which has been compared by critics to an astonishing array of Margaret Atwood, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Flannery O’ Connor, Robert Penn Warren, William Faulker, Vladimir Nabokov, and more. His novels are likely to elicit wonderment, as in “the perfect book” (Business Day, South Africa) and “the best novel I've read in years” (Christian Wiman, author of My Bright Abyss). And in this, his first book in two decades, the conflicts, griefs, and hopes of an immigrant community in a Chicago condo come to represent those of the wounded world we all must share.


As a financial crisis looms, Jamal “Jack” Shaban is trying to save his neighbors from bankruptcy. But who is Jack, really? For his flight attendant colleagues, he’s an object of desire, even love, particularly for his sweetly bawdy Wisconsinite best friend, Birdy. Birdy knows nothing about Dimra, Jack’s traditional Muslim wife, with whom Jack is desperate to have a child. Nor does Dimra know about Jack’s attraction to an angry single mom new to the building. The resulting tangle of love, desire, and conflict returns Jack to the violence of 1980s Gaza, where a taboo affair nearly destroyed his life.


A man of many sides—adulterer, devoted husband, fixer, community leader, liar, and the survivor of human and cosmic cruelty in both the past and the novel’s present—Jack is a paragon of both desire and hope, someone who has committed to love because the alternative is utter darkness.


A gorgeous blend of gentle comedy and poignant tragedy, of blasted hopes and one man’s indomitable dedication to the well-being of others, this is a book to love and never forget.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Adult

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2026

About the author

Naeem Murrʼs first novel, The Boy, was a New York Times Notable Book. Another novel, The Genius of the Sea, was published in 2003. His latest, The Perfect Man, was awarded The Commonwealth Writersʼ Prize for the Best Book of Europe and South Asia, and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. His work has been translated into eight languages. He has received many awards for his writing, most recently a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pen Beyond Margins Award. He has been a writer-in-residence at the University of Missouri, Western Michigan, and Northwestern University, among others. Born and brought up in London, he has lived in America since his early twenties, and currently resides in Chicago.

Photo: copyright Alan Cross.

Reviews

[Justin W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company for providing an advance copy for review via NetGalley.

This is a novel for readers who love literary fiction that lingers, especially immigrant stories that sit with you, unsettle you, and demand reflection after you have set the book down.

Every Exit Brings You Home follows Jamal “Jack," a Gazan refugee now living in a struggling Chicago condominium, where he is thrust into the role of fixer, mediator, and condo board leader. But, Jack is a man of contradictions. He is devoted yet deeply flawed, he is generous yet dishonest, shaped by both the violence of his past and the compromises of his present. His greatest longing for a family, for stability, and for belonging, continues to remain just out of reach.

What struck me most was the novel’s discomfort. Murr juxtaposes Jack’s memories of Gaza with the small, suffocating dramas of American condo life ahead of the Great Recession in a way that never lets the reader get too comfortable. Even in supposed “greener pastures" of America, trauma echoes. The book offers a view of life shaped by occupation and terror and acknowledges both the brutality of Israeli soldiers and the devastating violence Hamas inflicts on Gazans. It centers the interior life of someone who fled, survived, and is still searching for home and what family should be.

The novel is heavy by design. There are moments of gentle, almost surprising humor, but they only deepen the poignancy. Jack’s choices can be frustrating, even painful to read through, yet they feel undoubtedly human.

While the narrative occasionally jumps abruptly through time, topic, and geography, the storytelling itself is beautiful. The story is marked by a deep sense of community, complex relationships, and an unapologetic emotional honesty. The result is a book that stayed with me long after I finished it.

For readers drawn to literary fiction, immigrant narratives, and stories that explore how history reshapes love, family, and moral compromise, this is a meaningful and memorable read.

[Annie Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book flat out just crushed me. I am devastated by this book I am going through so many emotions my mind is racing after this read. Naeem Murr has such a raw and beautiful writing style I am just in awe at this book. I loved that in his acknowledgements he put some of the books he read about Gaza and other Middle Eastern and Asian conflicts. You can feel while reading the effort and passion Murr put into creating this story. I will be raving about this for a long time.

[Angie Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won a copy on Goodreads giveaways. It was just okay. The story itself had potential, and overall I did like where it went, but the writing style made it harder to fully enjoy.
There was a lot of jumping back in time in the middle of chapters, which made it difficult to follow the present-day storyline. I often found myself having to reorient to figure out when things were happening. While some sections were beautifully written and really engaging, others felt slow and a bit boring.
I also struggled to connect with many of the characters. Jack, in particular, was pretty awful and hard to sympathize with. The only characters I truly liked were Dirma and Birdy—they brought some warmth and depth to the story.
In the end, I appreciated the overall concept and themes, but the structure and character development didn’t quite work for me. It had strong moments, just not consistently enough to make it a favorite.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh these messed up perfectly human people grew on me…I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to them all. I’m pretty certain I will remember them for a long time.

There’s something all-American about this diverse group of people living in this shit building trying their best to grasp a little bit of happy in their very difficult lives.

I both felt it was heavy on the backstory for Jack and Dimra and also fascinated about learning more about growing up in Palestine. I’ve decided instead of wanting more of other characters backstory in this book, I’d now like a second novel heavy on May’s backstory.

[J. Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naeem Murr's important and compelling contemporary story is wonderfully complex while his narrative abilities make it easily followed. His wit, especially in occasional metaphorical gems, often stops the reader who will want to savor it. This is a novel of unusual characteristics with clearly drawn characters. We believe we have met them and take much pleasure in the art that brings them to us.

[Emily Lemus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Exit is a fast, emotionally driven novel about flawed people making messy choices. There’s a focus on friendships, relationships, regret, and the consequences of infidelity. While the writing is engaging and the story moves quickly, the emphasis on betrayal makes the emotional experience feel repetitive and difficult to fully invest in. It’s a solid one-time read, but not one I’d revisit or strongly recommend.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bleak, devastating - a gut punch. I listened to this as an audiobook and probably would have given it 5 stars if I’d read it instead of listened. The narrator was not up to the task of something this heavy.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs an editor. Parts of this were pretty interesting. Jack dealing with all the residents at the condo. Jack being unsure about his sexuality. Some parts about Dimra and Birdy. But there was no direction, no story.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

bellissimo, come pensare alla palestina libera <3

[JXR · Rating 5 out of 5]

lyrical book with some fantastic plotting and impressive character-building. would recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We all stand on mountains looking down at burning cities.”

[Mike Hartnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

People are really, really complicated.