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A review by vighnesh
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
2nd review 28/7/2024
The story opens with Isma, who has just moved to the US to pursue her PHD. She is the oldest of 3, and has shouldered the responsibility of raising her 2 younger siblings as they were orphaned. Her two younger siblings, Aneeka, a law student at LSE and her twin brother Parvaiz, a recent recruit of a terrorist group.
The story opens with Isma, who has just moved to the US to pursue her PHD. She is the oldest of 3, and has shouldered the responsibility of raising her 2 younger siblings as they were orphaned. Her two younger siblings, Aneeka, a law student at LSE and her twin brother Parvaiz, a recent recruit of a terrorist group.
Isma happens to meet Eammon, son of the powerful islamophobic Home Secretary Karamat Lone. From there, the story unravels, exploring the perspectives of these 5 people.
It was a timely story of this dark time in the world, in particular the British Muslim society. Home Fire approaches this tough topic with empathy and tenderness, considering all sides of the story while constructing a devastating narrative, a modern Greek tragedy.
I have actually read this book before in 2021, however I felt that I didn’t fully appreciate it. Now, I believe I still haven’t. That is a testament to how nuanced this book is. Each time you read it, you glean something new.
This is a brave book, and I think that’s what made it so good. It asks these hard questions, begets tough conversations. We often look at these acts from an objective, black-and-white perspective, but what happens when the person involved is someone you love. What if they have been brainwashed? What if they want to escape? Can the same objectivity be applied? Home Fire not only asks these questions, but carefully explores them, showing true empathy to such a dark page in our society.
The only aspect of the book I didn’t enjoy was some of the stylistic choices. The flowery writing felt forced, like the book was attempting to be quotable. Sometimes, these creative leaps work and enhance the narrative, but in this case, it felt melodramatic and cringey at points.
Home Fire, is still and I believe will continue to be an important piece of literature, it explores this dark page in our society with care, and I believe we can all learn a lot from it. It definitely has the potential to be a modern classic.
1st review 4/9/2021
This book was just stellar. Told in 5 different perspectives, this book sheds light on such an infamous topic. I enjoyed how it was tackled and found it very smart on how the author used these various perspectives with different proximities to the issue to give the reader a well rounded view on this topic.
The characters were fleshed out and I found all of them very distinguishable. I enjoyed seeing their relationships and how fragile they became after such a life changing event. I felt that it was so realistic and these characters felt like real people. This has to be because all the decisions made are such humane ones and the author shows why these decisions are made. Especially the chapter which addresses how Parvaiz is recruited. The way it is written makes it seem like such a logical decision even though it is not. This chapter really showed to me how powerful this author’s writing was in that the author makes the reader feel what she wants them to so easily.
The reason why I’m not giving this five stars is because I wasn’t a huge fan of the chapters leading up to the ending. I found that the perspective used was not intimately related to the event and was more of this person that would not be emotionally affected. I would have much preferred if we got to see this event through the eyes of someone much closer to the people involved in this event. It also got a bit political which I understand and appreciate because it gives an important message but from an enjoyment perspective, I would have liked if we got to explore the characters and how they were feeling at that moment.
The ending was swift but carried such a huge impact. It ended just as it started yet it left me devastated. It was so beautiful and it made me love this book so much more. Home Fire is a book of grief, the struggles of family ties, attempting to find yourself and the harsh realities of life.