Reviews

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

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vibecalledjess's review against another edition

4.0

“Grief was bad-tempered, grief was kind; grief saw nothing but itself, grief saw every speck of pain in the world; grief spread its wings large like an eagle, grief huddled small like a porcupine; grief needed company, grief craved solitude; grief wanted to remember, wanted to forget; grief raged, grief whimpered...Grief was a shapeshifter, and invisible too...”

This book. These words. This story. I picked this up because of the cover (hello, gorgeous!) and I learned that it was based on the Sophocles story of Antigone. It is essentially the story of two families with different beliefs. But Shamsie’s version, this story is a whole new level. It is centered on three British Muslim siblings in London. One follows in their father’s Jihadist footsteps. Home Fire is told in different perspectives of the two families. The other family is a powerful political family. I became very invested in the lives of the Pakistani siblings: Isma, Aneeka and Parvais.

What does it mean to be Muslim in this world? Honestly this story is challenging to summarize as it tackles so many sensitive topics: Islamophobia, racism, grief, loss, betrayal and loyalty but most importantly, family. With the different perspectives, readers are left with some questions or maybe even some disappointment that the story doesn’t continue in their voice. However, the twists and turns in this will keep you engaged although there were moments that were very plot heavy and I had to reread a passage or two. To read about their Muslim experiences, it made this book incredibly timely and relevant.

Home Fire won the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Also, this was my choice for the Diverse Summer Reads challenge. #dvsr18 Reading this is a reminder of the importance of diverse reads. We all need to better understand each other’s experiences.