(Author photo courtesy of Riverhead Books)

This story is narrated by a  “Early American Literature” teacher, who teaches priveleged freshmans in high school.  He tells his students about his father’s exodus from Ethiopia to Sudan, and his final escape to England and the the United States of America.

The teacher confesses to the reader that part of the story is true but part he has made up as he went along.  He tells his fathe’rs story over several days until one day, he runs into the dean in the school hallway. 


“I knew that it was only a matter of time before I was called to account for what I had been teaching my students. On a Friday, the dean caught me in the hall just as I was preparing to enter my classroom. There was nothing threatening or angry in his voice. He simply said, “Come and see me in my office when your class is over.”

When he goes to see the dean after class, the dean asks how much of the story is true.  The teacher confesses, “almost none of it.”  The dean responds, “it’s good to hear them talking about important things. So much of what I hear from them is shallow, silly rumors. They can sort out what’s true for themselves later.”

I found An Honest Exit to be a mesmorizing story.  Even though it is not true, the way it was told and the circumstance rang true to me.  Things like the son’s story have happened in history, even recent history. Dinaw Mengestu uses traditional storytelling for this story and I think it worked well.  I highly recomend that you read this story!  You can read it at The New Yorker, here.

If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!