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Title : Home Fire
Author : Kamila Shamsie
ISBN : 9789386606655
Publisher : Bloomsbury India
Genre : Contemporary Fiction
Pages : 272
Source : Publisher
Rating : 5 stars
I am glad and thankful to Bloomsbury India for sending me a review copy of this groundbreaking work of fiction, even before it was long-listed for Man Booker 2017 award.
I had never read Shamsie before and heard great deal about her for “A God in Every Stone” and “Cartography“. When I received this book, I had no plans to finish it in almost one go, but the plot ensuring emotionally upheavals and a crisp, no-nonsense narration just didn’t let me go before I reached the last page.
“Home Fire” is a classical example of having multifarious themes enter-wined in one book- Familial love & loss, xenophobia, extremism, terrorism, religion, politics and then the space where all these collide.
Aneeka & Parvaiz are British Muslim twins, brought up by their elder sister Isma after their father left them for Jihad and their mother passed away eventually. After Aneeka is old enough to join the law school and Parvaiz has disappeared, Isma also leaves for USA to pursue her PhD. In USA he meets, Eamonn, son of a powerful British politician who had an malignant history with their family. Eamonn then also meets Aneeka after returning to London and what ensues between them brings the world upside down for all three of them.
The ending of the book is explosive and it uncannily reminded me of the ending of “The Reluctant Fundamentalist“. The author has shown a great deal of maturity in dealing with the topics of xenophobia & discrimination against Muslims in West and have subtly highlighted their plight.
I would be glad to see this book make it to the Booker shortlist because I feel more and more people should read this book to expand their perspective and thought process towards the families of those who are involved in war/extremism/terrorism. This book will break your heart but will still leave you with a typical feeling of having a satisfying read.
Buy a copy from Amazon here: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
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