Book Review 94
Name Of The Book : Home Fire
Author : Kamila Shamsie
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Year : 2017
Category : Fiction
Review :
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 birth right to live up to – or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? Is he 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 re-imagining 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.
Aneeka and Parvaiz the twins and their sister Isma are Muslims living in Britain. After the sad demise of their mother and grandmother, Isma cared for her sibling like a mother would, even sacrificing her own dreams and ambitions for their sake. Finally, she decides to move to America with her trusted mentor to co-author a paper with her. Meanwhile Aneeka pursues law and Parvaiz has left the country in search of his father’s past. Their father was a jihadi and had passed away a few years ago. Isma wants to make sure that Parvez does not follow their father’s footsteps and face the same fate. She will go to any extent to make sure that the last few members of her family will survive. Eamonn is the son of a powerful politician of Britain who has Muslim roots. Eamonn is still trying to understand his identity. When Eamonn meets Aneeka and Isma, he does not know how their relationships will cost him his family. The story talks about the complicated relationships between love, loyalty, patriotism and family. The book is narrated in parts by five of the characters. This book talks about an important issue – Islamophobia which is relevant in today’s global scenario. However, the writing did not live up to my expectations. From a book which won a lot of awards, I had expected a better storytelling experience. The book is a modern retelling of Sophocles' play Antigone. I am not familiar with that so I could not compare the storylines. The love between Aneeka and Eamonn seems forced and lacked emotional depth. The idea of using different narratives was not executed properly; it felt incomplete and inadequate. All the characters lack a certain depth and fell short of my expectations. The end was too dramatic for my taste. I was expecting something more subtle. This is a good book to understand the problems faced by Muslims around the world but the story could have been presented in a better way.
Rating : 3.5/5
Name Of The Book : Home Fire
Author : Kamila Shamsie
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Year : 2017
Category : Fiction
Review :
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 birth right to live up to – or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? Is he 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 re-imagining 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.
Aneeka and Parvaiz the twins and their sister Isma are Muslims living in Britain. After the sad demise of their mother and grandmother, Isma cared for her sibling like a mother would, even sacrificing her own dreams and ambitions for their sake. Finally, she decides to move to America with her trusted mentor to co-author a paper with her. Meanwhile Aneeka pursues law and Parvaiz has left the country in search of his father’s past. Their father was a jihadi and had passed away a few years ago. Isma wants to make sure that Parvez does not follow their father’s footsteps and face the same fate. She will go to any extent to make sure that the last few members of her family will survive. Eamonn is the son of a powerful politician of Britain who has Muslim roots. Eamonn is still trying to understand his identity. When Eamonn meets Aneeka and Isma, he does not know how their relationships will cost him his family. The story talks about the complicated relationships between love, loyalty, patriotism and family. The book is narrated in parts by five of the characters. This book talks about an important issue – Islamophobia which is relevant in today’s global scenario. However, the writing did not live up to my expectations. From a book which won a lot of awards, I had expected a better storytelling experience. The book is a modern retelling of Sophocles' play Antigone. I am not familiar with that so I could not compare the storylines. The love between Aneeka and Eamonn seems forced and lacked emotional depth. The idea of using different narratives was not executed properly; it felt incomplete and inadequate. All the characters lack a certain depth and fell short of my expectations. The end was too dramatic for my taste. I was expecting something more subtle. This is a good book to understand the problems faced by Muslims around the world but the story could have been presented in a better way.
Rating : 3.5/5