REVIEW: Home Fire

Book: Home Fire
Published: 15th August
Published by: Bloomsbury
Genre: Modern Literature
Rating: 5/5
Source: Bloomsbury India

Home Fire is the candidate I support to win the Booker Prize. 
The novel is divided in 5 sections, each focusing on the experience of one character. At its core, it is the story of a British family of Pakistani origin and their struggle to live in their adoptive country in the shadow of the terrorist threat, especially because of their troubled history. 

I thought the beginning to be a bit shaky but please persevere. The writing gets much better after 30 pages or so. It becomes a powerful, emotional and important novel for our times. 

We learn about the methods used to recruit young people, usually 18 or 19, to the Islamic terrorist cause. The novel is narrated in alternating chapters by the five main characters. Each succeeding chapter is more intense, and by the time we hear from Aneeka, this story had radically changed, become super charged, very intense. The novel displays a confidence not only in prose but in how the story is related, which I found extremely effective.Complex issues. Love of family, youthful mistakes, how much can be forgiven. Government stances versus family, fear versus love, and the difficulties of Muslims, how they must act to fit in with society. 

In Home Fire, we get the story of Isma and her twin, younger siblings Aneeka and Parvaiz. Since their mother died, Isma has raised the two younger children. The story starts when Isma gets the opportunity to travel to America to resume her interrupted studies (the other children now being old enough to not need her around). Her journey to America quickly reveals some of the key themes that will develop. At the airport, she is detained for questioning purely, it seems, because she is a Muslim. Once in America, she continues to worry about her brother and sister and it soon becomes clear that something has gone seriously wrong with Parvaiz. Then Isma meets someone whose father is an influential politician back in England. 

Long listed for the Booker, I find tis a very worthy addition. Unforgettable, some of the visuals displaying a sister's love I don't think I will forget.

I have not read any of Shamsie’s previous novels, so this was new territory for me. It’s a good sign, I guess, that I have immediately added two other books to my “to read” list to try some more. 


No doubt, its a very strong book. And ending was quite unexpected for me.
Home Fires poses some complex questions about race and does answer them.

So yes, I thought this book was excellent. It piles on some heavy themes but is readable, and let's face it: a well constructed novel.


Thank you Bloomsbury India for sending this book to me for review !