Home Fire: A Novel

I recently purchased "Home Fire" and was extremely satisfied with the experience. The seller sent the book on time and in excellent condition. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and would definitely buy from this seller again.As for the book itself, "Home Fire" is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that tackles complex themes of identity, loyalty, and family. Kamila Shamsie's writing is beautiful, and the characters are well-developed and relatable. I was utterly captivated by the story and highly recommend this book to others.

There is no doubt this is a good read, with a story that keeps you intrigued but there just something that doesn’t feel quite right. I don’t know if it’s the islamophobe sentiment though out it or the unrealistic circumstances trying to fit into something that foul happen.

“Habits of secrecy are damaging things.”Home Fire, long listed for this year’s Mann Booker Prize, is Kamila Shamsie’s much acclaimed 7th novel, and the first of hers I’ve read though I’ve long admired her essays. Shamsie uses the old Greek myth about Antigone, to underpin a very modern story following a British Pakistani family based in London. Note: I would recommend not re-reading Antigone beforehand unless you want spoilers to almost every plot point in the book (I refreshed my failed memory afterwards ).Isma Pasha is in her late 20s, quiet and hard working, about to start a graduate program in the States. Her life is finally in her own hands after helping raise her much younger siblings, twins Aneeka (the headstrong beautiful one) and Parvaiz (the dangerously aimless one). Their parents are long dead, their father a jihadist, often absent through their childhood, yet still a powerful pull. The handsome son of a controversial political figure in London enters their lives, and the novel races from taut beginning to shocking end.“For girls, becoming women was inevitability; for boys, becoming men was ambition.”Shamsie is a brilliant psychological writer, and her characters inhabit class, race, and gender in varying and vivid states. The scenes are sharply and finely drawn, the dialogue precise and clever, and the plot vibrates with increasing intensity. There is a bit of hysteria and Hollywood overblown-ness towards the end, though in fairness, Greek tragedies aren't exactly understated either. Neither, for that matter, is the war on terror or the war on the west. I'm also a little over fraternal boy-girl twins being portrayed as mind-meld ESP close.One of the most powerful lessons Home Fire drove home for me was how the government programs that pursue and punish home grown radicals end up devastating their families. Isma barely knew her father, and her younger siblings never even met him, yet his jihadist life and mysterious death haunt them long after, not just psychologically, but legally, logistically, inescapably. Rifts are created within their family and community, educational and professional ambitions are disrupted, their very movement through the world thwarted. It’s terrifying to see these effects ripple through and to begin to understand how Muslim communities, and by racist conflation, people of color, are affected by Western anti-terrorism programs and policies.Home Fire is a novel for our times, stretching from family ties and community to the wider sweep of global terrorism, religion and radicalism, immigration and nativism, and what we do for love and war. The book will keep you turning pages, but moreover, its gift is its resonance, making the intimate a deeply political act, and the political honing unerringly home.

Warning: Contains some spoilers.I heard about this novel in a segment on NPR several months ago and was intrigued enough to purchase it in the hardback format. I rarely give books five stars, but this is hands-down the best book I've read this year. I won't rehash the plot. If you haven't read the other reviews, it might be helpful to note that this story is a modern retelling of "Antigone", which may help those who remember their high school world lit classes understand the structure of the novel. Antigone is my favorite Greek tragedy. Shamsie stands with Jean Anouilh in her interpretation of Sophocles' work.The writing is very good - spare, elegant, and engaging. Shamsie did a fine job of evoking the motivations of Ismene and Antigone in a realistic manner. There was even a bit of deus ex machina in the plot, which may lead some to view the story line as contrived, but had me applauding the subtle nod to the Greek original. Some reviewers did not care for the characterization, though I respectfully disagree. She took the viewpoints of the four main characters, giving enough background on the characters for the reader to understand why they make the decisions and take the actions which their histories and personalities turn into immutable destiny.Despite its relatively low page count, this is not a light read. It's a work of beauty and depth which requires the reader's full attention in order to absorb the ramifications of the characters' actions and appreciate the intricacies of how our choices affect our microcosmic social circles and society at large. Most of the main characters have strong moral outlooks which have evolved based upon their experiences and beliefs. Karamat Lone is not a caricature of a stereotypical venal politician, which would be fairly easy to depict. instead, Shamsie explores his past and present actions through the lens of his experiences and beliefs which outside observers and political opponents have labeled hypocritical or opportunistic.This is a vastly rewarding work which will stay with the reader long after the last page has been turned. Shamsie has succeeded in her goal of updating a Greek classic while making the characters and storyline completely her own.

I read this because it was a book group choice. I tend not to choose books that I know will upset me and continue to do so days and weeks afterwards. This was that book.There's a sense of slowly moving towards the inevitable ending which I hate. I want to shout stop at them all.Good writing but disturbing subject.

I think I must have read a different book to the other Reviewers because I thought this was dreadful! Absolutely dire, I could not finish it. I did not warm to any of the smug, self-centred characters. I didn't care what happened to any of them. I do not recommend reading this book at all, instead I recommend doing something else entirely, like watching paint dry, that would be more interesting.

Recommend to readers of contemporary fiction.The book is a modern re-telling of the Greek tragedy Antigone. A knowledge of Antigone isn't necessary but it does add an extra dimension to the read.Aneeka and Parvaiz are twins. They grew up knowing their dead father, a jihadist, as a silence. When their mother dies they are brought up by their older sister, Isma.When the twins reach adulthood, Isma decides to move to America to continue her studies. This move and Aneeka's enrollment in University sets a series of events in motion that lead to Parvaiz travelling to Syria.The story is interesting and thought-provoking. The radicalization of Parvaiz flows in a logical, natural way indicating how vulnerable some young men are in certain circumstances.The conflict between love and family versus duty and social responsibility is well explored. The book also highlights the "image" problems Muslims have and how their culture and actions are perceived by non-Muslims.

This is the most insightful account of the dilemma faced by British Muslims that I have ever read. It is also a moving account of tragedy working itself out in the heart of two families. A masterly piece of writing. It ought to be required reading on the national curriculum.

This year the Women's Prize For Fiction had three novels that i felt were brilliant and this was a worthy winner combining excellent writing with a theme both timeless and very relevant to today's society.Knowing my Ancient Greek literature I did have a sense of the overall direction this would take.Shamsie has used this as her foundation for a powerful story about the radicalization of a young man and its ramifications.During the section where Parvaiz is radicalized I was actually able to understand the appeal for him of this cause even if the reality opened his eyes.Epic in scale yet intimate.