Emily St John Mandel’s seventh novel, *Exit Party*, is set in a fractured future America and explores themes of parallel realities amid political upheaval and personal drama. The story begins in 2031, following Ari Waker’s release from nearly two decades in prison. In the intervening years, the United States has dissolved into chaos, with multiple states seceding after a coup, turning border regions into conflict zones controlled by militias.

Ari finds herself in the newly independent Republic of California, where relative calm has returned to Los Angeles, marked by the recent lifting of a citywide curfew. While attending a celebratory party with her roommate Gloria, Ari witnesses an extraordinary event: two mysterious “extra people” appear, duplicates of Gloria and another guest, while the party’s host vanishes without explanation. This incident propels the narrative forward, which spans decades and includes scenes set in Paris during the 2060s.

The novel weaves together elements of speculative fiction, particularly through its exploration of two parallel realities and characters seemingly shifting between them. Fans of Mandel’s work may recognize a shared universe, often called the “Mandelverse,” where characters and objects recur across her novels. Ari Waker originally appeared in *The Singer’s Gun*, and a significant painting in *Exit Party* also appears in *The Glass Hotel*. Despite the presence of science fiction motifs, Mandel’s writing continues to transcend genre conventions, following a path similar to authors like Margaret Atwood in bringing speculative ideas into mainstream literary fiction.

However, *Exit Party* has received mixed critical responses, particularly concerning its prose and narrative focus. Critics have described the writing as uneven, with moments of vivid imagery overshadowed by passages considered prosaic or veering into banality. Dialogue has been criticized as often stilted and overly expository. The narrative structure, while centered on Ari, is said to be burdened with a multitude of secondary characters and subplots that do not always cohere or serve the central storyline, including expanded coverage of Ari’s multiple marriages.

Critics also note that Ari’s characterization lacks depth, with references to her being “called” to a life of crime feeling unconvincing and insufficiently developed. Moreover, the novel leaves key aspects of its central mystery unresolved, particularly regarding the origins and nature of the alternate realities.

While *Exit Party* touches on themes relevant to contemporary societal fears—such as political fragmentation, social instability, and environmental crisis—the dystopian backdrop is viewed primarily as a setting for interpersonal conflicts rather than a fully realized exploration of these wider issues. Ultimately, some readers and reviewers find the novel’s ambition diffused by its complex but sometimes unfocused narrative threads, leaving the purpose of the story and its speculative elements somewhat unclear.