Reviews

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie

janiswong's review against another edition

reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful, searing, and honest. Shamsie writes with clarity and reflection of the values we hold dear and how the baggage we carry with us shapes and molds our identity. The book perfectly captures aspects of London, the careers, class, and otherness that sometimes turns into acceptance. A reflection on how friendships are not just tests of time.

idonthavebroadband's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lottselgar's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i really tried but i could not get behind maryam as a character

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Classism, Hate crime, and Sexism

rasha_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Spoiler

One of the things I appreciate the most about participating in a book club is the choice of books - it encourages me to read books that I would normally never read. Case in point: “Best of Friends”.

This is the story of two young girls who are best friends in Karachi in the late 1980’s, the experience of growing up in a time of political change and promise and an incident which sends their lives into unexpected directions. Fast forward thirty years, and we see them in London where the past resurfaces bringing with it issues that have a dramatic effect on them both.

I found myself empathising with the culture of Karachi in the 80’s because it echoed the Middle Eastern culture that I was raised in. There was one quote in particular which floored me:

“Unseen, the threats didn’t sit heavy inside her; instead, they formed only one seam of the skin of fear stitched onto her, which marked her as a woman, and to which she was now so accustomed that most days she didn’t even think about it. Girlfear…”

The questions this book raises concerning coming of age, friendship, class and trauma are poignant and on point and I found it interesting and thought provoking.

However, it seems that my opinion was in the minority. It was not well received by other members of the book club who found themselves unable to connect with any of the characters or their situation. For them the writing lacked the usual transportive effect that her previous books did.

I do not completely agree with them but I will give one caveat, this is not a book that will keep you turning the pages with ease; it requires a bit of concentration to keep going. 

I must say that her writing (especially the quote above) stayed with me and I kind of like the fact that it was an open ended story that leaves you with questions and what happens to the characters is a function of your interpretation.

zoli's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kamrynharned's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I read this for the Pakistan portion of my Around the World challenge.  I enjoyed the first part of the book set in Pakistan. Well, they were several sentences and paragraphs. I had to re-read multiple times to understand, The setting was intriguing, the character development was really provocative, and I loved the honest portrayal of friendship. However, all that disappeared when the story jumped 30 years ahead into the future.  The convoluted sentence structure only seem to get worse, in the deep dive into British politics, was neither interesting to me, nor explained well in my opinion. I felt the large gap in the storyline deeply, and felt like I missed out on getting to know the characters more, but I also wasn’t happy with how the characters turned out, so maybe I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyways. I ended up skipping through large portions of the end of the book, which I never do, simply, because I just couldn’t stand to read it anymore. It was a mixture of boredom and revulsion, and the ending was terrible. 

kirstenellang's review against another edition

3.0

I think following up Home Fire would have been tough no matter what Shamsie did.

This book just was not it for me it was interesting but in a bit of a girl boss way which i want keen on. Home fires was just so fucking good that this book was a bit of a downgrade and made me appreciate it so much more. I miss the inventiveness of the form and the writing because this book could have been so much more.

bethd2828's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

robd52's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

brynpemery's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25