WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2017
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017
A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
AN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
'Elegant and evocative ... A powerful exploration of the clash between society, family and faith in the modern world' Guardian
'There is high, high music in the air at the end of Home Fire' New York Times
Isma is free. After years spent raising her twin siblings in the wake of their mother's death, she is finally studying in America, resuming a dream long deferred. But she can't stop worrying about Aneeka, her beautiful, headstrong sister back in London - or their brother, Parvaiz, who's disappeared in pursuit of his own dream: to prove himself to the dark legacy of the jihadist father he never knew.
Then Eamonn enters the sisters' lives. Handsome and privileged, he inhabits a London worlds away from theirs. As the son of a powerful British Muslim politician, Eamonn has his own birthright to live up to - or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? The means of Parvaiz's salvation? Two families' fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined in this searing novel that asks: what sacrifices will we make in the name of love?
A contemporary reimagining of Sophocles' Antigone, Home Fire is an urgent, fiercely compelling story of loyalties torn apart when love and politics collide - confirming Kamila Shamsie as a master storyteller of our times.
Back in 2015, our publishing company, Not a Pipe Publishing, accepted Kamila Shamsie's challenge to make 2018 "The Year of Publishing Women," so I knew I needed to read her work, but it took me far too long to get around to it. I just finished Home Fire. I tell students my favorite kind of writing sucker-punches the reader. This novel left me gasping. I think Ms. Shamsie may have broken a couple of my ribs and permanently bruised my heart. Read Home Fire. The force of impact will linger in your body.
Reading updates
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7 January, 2018:
Reviewed