Emily St John Mandel’s *Exit Party* follows Ari Waker after an 18-year prison sentence, in a future where a second American civil war has destroyed the United States. As she navigates the newly independent State of California, strange encounters suggest that another version of reality exists, raising questions about identity, fate and whether social stability is worth surrendering personal freedom.

The novel’s second half introduces a parallel America that has avoided environmental catastrophe and distributes resources fairly, but is governed by total surveillance, hereditary leadership and the disappearance of dissenters. The review praises Mandel’s connection to her earlier novels, her expansion from quirky character studies to politically resonant speculative fiction, and the contrast between a chaotic, climate-ravaged world and a peaceful but authoritarian alternative.