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“Ingenious… Builds to one of the most memorable final scenes I’ve read in a novel this century.” —The New York Times

WINNER OF THE 2018 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

FINALIST FOR THE 2019 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences, from the author of Best of Friends

Isma is free. After years of watching out for her younger siblings in the wake of their mother’s death, she’s accepted an invitation from a mentor in America that allows her to resume 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. When he resurfaces half a globe away, Isma’s worst fears are confirmed.

Then Eamonn enters the sisters’ lives. Son of a powerful political figure, he has his own birthright to live up to—or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? The means of Parvaiz’s salvation? Suddenly, two families’ fates are inextricably, devastatingly entwined, in this searing novel that asks: What sacrifices will we make in the name of love?

Review

Praise for Home Fire:

“Ingenious and love-struck … Home Fire takes flight. … Shamsie drives this gleaming machine home in a manner that, if I weren’t handling airplane metaphors, I would call smashing. … Builds to one of the most memorable final scenes I’ve read in a novel this century.” —New York Times

“[U]rgent and explosive … near perfect ... a difficult book to put down.”—NPR

"[A] haunting novel, full of dazzling moments and not a few surprising turns...Home Fire blazes with the kind of annihilating devastation that transcends grief." —Washington Post

“Achingly good...[and] shrewdly subversive.”—The New York Times Book Review

“This wrenching, thought-provoking novel races to a shattering climax.”—People Magazine

“A Greek tragedy for the age of ISIS ... spare as a fable yet intensely intimate.” —Vogue

"A thought-provoking commentary on loyalty, love, justice, politics, terrorism, religion, and family.” —Buzzfeed

“Elegant and intense, Kamila Shamsie’s seventh novel asks timeless questions about love for and loyalty to family and ideology — and you won’t be able to put it down until you reach its unforgettable ending… it’s safe to say this is Shamsie at her best.” —Shondaland.com

“Pitch perfect...We can expect more great work from this audaciously talented author.” —New York Journal of Books

“Her last, perfect word serves as a contemporary, against-all-odds, global prayer… Shamsie’s latest is a compelling, stupendous stand-out to be witnessed, honored, and deeply commended.”—Christian Science Monitor

“A cross-continental novel about civil disobedience that tackles political and emotional matters with equal assurance.” —Time Magazine

"Shamsie’s timely fiction probes the roots of radicalism and the pull of the family.” —O, the Oprah Magazine

"A blaze of identity, family, nationalism, and Sophocles’ Antigone.”—Vanity Fair

“Stunning...every fall reader who picks this up will be mesmerized by Shamsie’s enchanting prose—and they’ll definitely fall in love with these unforgettable characters.”—Redbook Magazine

“So good that it will break your heart.”—WAMC, “The Roundtable”

"An absorbing and incisive study of race and roots, attachment and affiliation — to a cause, a country, a person, a family — which encompasses five fascinatingly divergent viewpoints… timely and incendiary.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“All of Shamsie’s novels are deeply moving and morally complex, leading to the kind of rich reading experience most of us hope for in every novel we pick up. Her newest has all of that and more.” —San Francisco Chronicle

"Astonishingly accomplished, melding classic story with text messages and contemporary headlines, and Shamsie makes every devastatingly unknown compassionately known." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Shamsie’s newest bestseller unpacks the controversial subjects of love, humanity, and extremism with due care.”—Brit + Co

"Intelligent, phenomenally plotted, and eminently readable."—Bitch

“Remarkable… [an] engrossing work of literature, one not only important to current political conversation, but also that holds timeless truths and a story that never grows old.”—Chicago Review of Books

"Shamsie’s prose is, as always, elegant and evocative. Home Fire pulls off a fine balancing act: it is a powerful exploration of the clash between society, family and faith in the modern world, while tipping its hat to the same dilemma in the ancient one."—The Guardian

“Home Fire is about love, loyalty, and sacrifice — and it makes the headlines we read every day hit home in a way that will inspire any reader to fight for what's right.” —Bustle

"Shamise’s incredibly moving story addresses the conflict between what we feel to be right versus what the law tells us is right, and what we will sacrifice in the name of family.” —Real Simple

“Engrossing… The timely novel—critically hailed on both sides of the Atlantic, and long-listed for the prestigious Man Booker Prize—engages questions of bigotry, nationalism and national identity.”—Pittsburgh City Paper

"[A] powerful story of the complexities of love, family and state in wartime …timely and tragic, with an unforgettable ending.” —BBC.com

"Home Fire is Shamsie’s seventh and most accomplished novel. The emotionally compelling plot is well served by her lucid storytelling, and she digs into complex issues with confidence… As this deftly constructed page-turner moves swiftly toward its inevitable conclusion, it forces questions about what sacrifice you would make for family, for love." —BookPage

"It’s only 250-odd pages, but Home Fire feels sprawling, almost epic...This is sensitive material, and Shamsie is aware of the nuances. She doesn’t let anyone off the hook...powerful." —The Daily Telegraph

"Remarkable …a provocative work which will inspire the admiration of many but may at the same time infuriate readers expecting a more black and white depiction of terrorists versus non-terrorists, Muslims versus non-Muslims, the role of the state versus the rights of the civilian. It takes a brave writer to tackle these subjects in such a nuanced fashion and a fearless one to recognise that there is enough blame for all parties." —The Irish Times

“Moving and thought-provoking.” —The Millions, Most Anticipated

"An Odyssey of the imagination … incredibly convincing." —BBC Radio 4

“Gut-wrenching and undeniably relevant to today’s world… In accessible, unwavering prose and without any heavy-handedness, Shamsie addresses an impressive mix of contemporary issues, from Muslim profiling to cultural assimilation and identity to the nuances of international relations. This shattering work leaves a lasting emotional impression.”—Booklist, starred

"Memorable...salient and heartbreaking, culminating in a shocking ending."—Publisher's Weekly

"Two-time Orange Prize nominee Shamsie (A God in Every Stone) has written an explosive novel with big questions about the nature of justice, defiance, and love." —Kirkus Reviews

"One pays it the highest compliment one can pay fiction; it makes you think. Uncomfortably."—The Times

"utterly contemporary and deeply original too." —The Standard

"Home Fire is everything literary fiction should be — an exciting, beautiful, profound novel of lasting value that deserves laurels." —The Spectator

"Propulsive and unfailingly elegant... [Shamsie's] brave and brilliant novel strongly suggests that the only way to counter hate-filled fundamentalism is with a fundamentalism of love." —Sunday Times

“Home Fire left me awestruck, shaken, on the edge of my chair, filled with admiration for her courage and ambition.” —Peter Carey, Booker Prize-winning author of Oscar and Lucinda

“Shamsie’s simple, lucid prose plays in perfect harmony with the heartbeat of modern times. Home Fire deftly reveals all the ways in which the political is as personal as the personal is political. No novel could be as timely.” —Aminatta Forna, author of The Memory of Love

“A searing novel about the choices people make for love, and for the place they call home.” —Laila Lalami, Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Moor's Account

“A good novelist blurs the imaginary line between us and them; Kamila Shamsie is the rare writer who makes one forget there was ever such a thing as a line. Home Fire is a remarkable novel, both timely and necessary.” —Rabih Alameddine, author of An Unnecessary Woman

About the Author

Kamila Shamsie is the author of several previous novels, including Broken Verses and Burnt Shadows. She has been a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Orange Prize (twice) and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, among other honors, and has been named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She was raised in Karachi and lives in London.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Isma was going to miss her flight. The ticket wouldn’t be refunded because the airline took no responsibility for passengers who arrived at the airport three hours ahead of the departure time and were escorted to an interrogation room. She had expected the interrogation, but not the hours of waiting that would precede it, nor that it would feel so humiliating to have the contents of her suitcase inspected. She’d made sure not to pack anything that would invite comment or questions—no Quran, no family pictures, no books on her area of academic interest—but, even so, the officer took hold of every item of Isma’s clothing and ran it between her thumb and fingers, not so much searching for hidden pockets as judging the quality of the material. Finally she reached for the designer-label down jacket Isma had folded over a chair back when she entered, and held it up, one hand pinching each shoulder.

“This isn’t yours,” she said, and Isma was sure she didn’t mean because it’s at least a size too large but rather it’s too nice for someone like you.

“I used to work at a dry-cleaning shop. The woman who brought this in said she didn’t want it when we couldn’t get rid of the stain.” She pointed to the grease mark on the pocket.

“Does the manager know you took it?”

“I was the manager.”

“You were the manager of a dry-cleaning shop and now you’re on your way to a PhD program in sociology?”

“Yes.”

“And how did that happen?”

“My siblings and I were orphaned just after I finished uni. They were twelve years old—twins. I took the first job I could find. Now they’ve grown up; I can go back to my life.”

“You’re going back to your life . . . in Amherst, Massachusetts.”

“I meant the academic life. My former tutor from LSE teaches in Amherst now, at the university there. Her name is Hira Shah. You can call her. I’ll be staying with her when I arrive, until I find a place of my own.”

“In Amherst.”

“No. I don’t know. Sorry, do you mean her place or the place of my own? She lives in Northampton—that’s close to Amherst. I’ll look all around the area for whatever suits me best. So it might be Amherst, but it might not. There are some real estate listings on my phone. Which you have.” She stopped herself. The official was doing that thing that she’d encountered before in security personnel—staying quiet when you answered their question in a straightforward manner, which made you think you had to say more. And the more you said, the more guilty you sounded.

The woman dropped the jacket into the jumble of clothes and shoes and told Isma to wait.

That had been a while ago. The plane would be boarding now. Isma looked over at the suitcase. She’d repacked when the woman left the room and spent the time since worrying if doing that without permission constituted an offense. Should she empty the clothes out into a haphazard pile, or would that make things even worse? She stood up, unzipped the suitcase, and flipped it open so its contents were visible.

A man entered the office, carrying Isma’s passport, laptop, and phone. She allowed herself to hope, but he sat down, gestured for her to do the same, and placed a voice recorder between them.

“Do you consider yourself British?” the man said.

“I am British.”

“But do you consider yourself British?”

“I’ve lived here all my life.” She meant there was no other country of which she could feel herself a part, but the words came out sounding evasive.

The interrogation continued for nearly two hours. He wanted to know her thoughts on Shias, homosexuals, the Queen, democracy, The Great British Bake Off, the invasion of Iraq, Israel, suicide bombers, dating websites. After that early slip regarding her Britishness, she settled into the manner that she’d practiced with Aneeka playing the role of the interrogating officer, Isma responding to her sister as though she were a customer of dubious political opinions whose business Isma didn’t want to lose by voicing strenuously opposing views, but to whom she didn’t see the need to lie either. (“When people talk about the enmity between Shias and Sunni, it usually centers around some political imbalance of power, such as in Iraq or Syria—as a Brit, I don’t distinguish between one Muslim and another.” “Occupying other people’s territory generally causes more problems than it solves”—this served for both Iraq and Israel. “Killing civilians is sinful—that’s equally true if the manner of killing is a suicide bombing or aerial bombardments or drone strikes.”) There were long intervals of silence between each answer and the next question as the man clicked keys on her laptop, examining her browser history. He knew that she was interested in the marital status of an actor from a popular TV series; that wearing a hijab didn’t stop her from buying expensive products to tame her frizzy hair; that she had searched for “how to make small talk with Americans.”

You know, you don’t have to be so compliant about everything, Aneeka had said during the role-playing. Isma’s sister, not quite nineteen, with her law student brain, who knew everything about her rights and nothing about the fragility of her place in the world. For instance, if they ask you about the Queen, just say, “As an Asian I have to admire her color palette.” It’s important to show at least a tiny bit of contempt for the whole process. Instead, Isma had responded, I greatly admire Her Majesty’s commitment to her role. But there had been comfort in hearing her sister’s alternative answers in her head, her Ha! of triumph when the official asked a question that she’d anticipated and Isma had dismissed, such as the Great British Bake Off one. Well, if they didn’t let her board this plane—or any one after this—she would go home to Aneeka, which is what half Isma’s heart knew it should do in any case. How much of Aneeka’s heart wanted that was a hard question to answer—she’d been so adamant that Isma not change her plans for America, and whether this was selflessness or a wish to be left alone was something even Aneeka herself didn’t seem to know. A tiny flicker in Isma’s brain signaled a thought about Parvaiz that was trying to surface, before it was submerged by the strength of her refusal ever to think about him again.

Eventually, the door opened and the woman official walked in. Perhaps she would be the one to ask the family questions—the ones most difficult to answer, the most fraught when she’d prepared with her sister.

“Sorry about that,” the woman said, unconvincingly. “Just had to wait for America to wake up and confirm some details about your student visa. All checked out. Here.” She handed a stiff rectangle of paper to Isma with an air of magnanimity. It was the boarding pass for the plane she’d already missed.

Isma stood up, unsteady because of the pins and needles in her feet, which she’d been afraid to shake off in case she accidentally kicked the man across the desk from her. As she wheeled out her luggage she thanked the woman whose thumbprints were on her underwear, not allowing even a shade of sarcasm to enter her voice.

***

The cold bit down on every exposed piece of skin before cutting through the layers of clothing. Isma opened her mouth and tilted her head back, breathing in the lip-numbing, teeth-aching air. Crusted snow lay all about, glinting in the lights of the terminal. Leaving her suitcase with Dr. Hira Shah, who had driven two hours across Massachusetts to meet her at Logan Airport, she walked over to a mound of snow at the edge of the parking lot, took off her gloves, and pressed her fingertips down on it. At first it resisted, but then it gave way, and her fingers burrowed into the softer layers beneath. She licked snow out of her palm, relieving the dryness of her mouth. The woman in customer services at Heathrow—a Muslim—had found her a place on the next flight out, without charge; she had spent the whole journey worrying about the interrogation awaiting her in Boston, certain they would detain her or put her on a plane back to London. But the immigration official had asked only where she was going to study, said something she didn’t follow but tried to look interested in regarding the university basketball team, and waved her through. And then, as she walked out of the arrivals area, there was Dr. Shah, mentor and savior, unchanged since Isma’s undergraduate days except for a few silver strands threaded through her cropped dark hair. Seeing her raise a hand in welcome, Isma understood how it might have felt, in another age, to step out on deck and see the upstretched arm of the Statue of Liberty and know you had made it, you were going to be all right.

While there was still some feeling in her gloveless hands she typed a message into her phone: Arrived safely. Through security—no problems. Dr. Shah here. How things with you?

Her sister wrote back: Fine, now I know they’ve let you through,

Really fine?

Stop worrying about me. Go live your life—I really want you to.

The parking lot with large, confident vehicles; the broad avenues beyond; the lights gleaming everywhere, their brightness multiplied by reflecting surfaces of glass and snow. Here, there was swagger and certainty and—on this New Year’s Day of 2015—a promise of new beginnings.

Review:

4.4 out of 5

88.89% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Greek Tragedy

y.p. · May 11, 2018

This book was a true “thriller”. I couldn’t put it down. It was superbly written. But then again, that is just part of the issue, the subject matter and the plot were not only fascinating but hit very close to home.I watched the interview with the author where she talks about transposing a modern day story onto the ancient tragedy of antigone. And as greek dramas go, we all know that the tragic outcome is inescapable. Inescapable destiny in life as well as in drama unfolds before our eyes daily, here and around the world.American books & movies, as well as the predominant culture there requires happy endings and resolution of disputes. British culture is split between these two approaches as is our author. Although i find she is far more pragmatic and Asian in her approach.Other cultures accept the inevitable and problems sans solutions.Isma is pragmatic, she is thoroughly British and yet very deeply rooted and influenced by her origins, but keeps a very even balance.The twins are far more volatile and less rooted. They seem more imprisoned between two cultures, affected and influenced by both but never really committed to either. They are young & confused, on a trajectory they cannot control or understand.Bringing home the story was also interesting. Living with citizens who are a minority and Who identify with our adversaries is never easy. Both sides are constantly juggling between fear, loathing, civil rights, human relations and political correctness as well as political interests. We are all torn between the desire for security which demands constant awareness and the desire to live in a world free from suspicion and worry.Also the lack of truly open discussion about islam and the cultural war taking place under our noses is what Karamat Lone has tried to do, making him unpopular with both his co religionists and his compatriots.Literature teaches us, helps us examine ourselves & our world, it does not change a thing, not Sophocles & not Kamila Shamsie.❤️✌🏻❤️✌🏻

4.0 out of 5 stars a novel for our times, deeply political and personal

A.Y.H. · June 4, 2018

“Habits of secrecy are damaging things.”Home Fire, long listed for this year’s Mann Booker Prize, is Kamila Shamsie’s much acclaimed 7th novel, and the first of hers I’ve read though I’ve long admired her essays. Shamsie uses the old Greek myth about Antigone, to underpin a very modern story following a British Pakistani family based in London. Note: I would recommend not re-reading Antigone beforehand unless you want spoilers to almost every plot point in the book (I refreshed my failed memory afterwards ).Isma Pasha is in her late 20s, quiet and hard working, about to start a graduate program in the States. Her life is finally in her own hands after helping raise her much younger siblings, twins Aneeka (the headstrong beautiful one) and Parvaiz (the dangerously aimless one). Their parents are long dead, their father a jihadist, often absent through their childhood, yet still a powerful pull. The handsome son of a controversial political figure in London enters their lives, and the novel races from taut beginning to shocking end.“For girls, becoming women was inevitability; for boys, becoming men was ambition.”Shamsie is a brilliant psychological writer, and her characters inhabit class, race, and gender in varying and vivid states. The scenes are sharply and finely drawn, the dialogue precise and clever, and the plot vibrates with increasing intensity. There is a bit of hysteria and Hollywood overblown-ness towards the end, though in fairness, Greek tragedies aren't exactly understated either. Neither, for that matter, is the war on terror or the war on the west. I'm also a little over fraternal boy-girl twins being portrayed as mind-meld ESP close.One of the most powerful lessons Home Fire drove home for me was how the government programs that pursue and punish home grown radicals end up devastating their families. Isma barely knew her father, and her younger siblings never even met him, yet his jihadist life and mysterious death haunt them long after, not just psychologically, but legally, logistically, inescapably. Rifts are created within their family and community, educational and professional ambitions are disrupted, their very movement through the world thwarted. It’s terrifying to see these effects ripple through and to begin to understand how Muslim communities, and by racist conflation, people of color, are affected by Western anti-terrorism programs and policies.Home Fire is a novel for our times, stretching from family ties and community to the wider sweep of global terrorism, religion and radicalism, immigration and nativism, and what we do for love and war. The book will keep you turning pages, but moreover, its gift is its resonance, making the intimate a deeply political act, and the political honing unerringly home.

5.0 out of 5 stars Searingly powerful Antigone-based book

J.I.S. · September 25, 2017

If truth be known, I picked up Home Fire with some reluctance. My fear was that Home Fire would be another over-simplified book, painting its Muslim characters as either wild-eyed terrorists or pitiful victims.I needn’t have worried. This is a nuanced book that is good – so good, in fact, that Ms. Shamsie had me in thrall right ‘til the extraordinarily powerful last lines. The book is based loosely on Sophocles’ Antigone, and even in stating that, I’m probably relaying too much.The crux of the plot is an unexpected romance between Aneeka, the twin sister of Parvaiz, who has been seduced into leaving London to work for the so-called media arm of ISIS, and Eamonn, the secular son of the British home secretary who has turned his back on his Muslim faith. Aneeka and Parvaiz were orphaned early on and raised by an older sister who is now studying in America. The bond between the twins is unbreakable.It is far too easy to create spoilers for this book so let me just say this: the themes of duty to country vs. duty to self, natural (or religious) law vs. man-made law and ambition vs. humanity is interwoven with a mesmerizing story of star-crossed lovers in the crossfires of a particularly intense time. The novel is well-paced and explosive with an organic ending that unsettled me and broke my heart. This is a powerful exploration of love, justice and a quest for salvation that could not be more timely.

3.0 out of 5 stars captivating

E. · January 25, 2023

There is no doubt this is a good read, with a story that keeps you intrigued but there just something that doesn’t feel quite right. I don’t know if it’s the islamophobe sentiment though out it or the unrealistic circumstances trying to fit into something that foul happen.

Colis ouvert.

E.U.C. · August 29, 2023

Le produit en lui même n’a pas de problème mais j’ai reçu mon colis ouvert et le livre légèrement abîmé sur les bord. Pour un livre censé être neuf je ne suis pas très satisfaite.

A fantastic read

B.Q. · May 14, 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed the story - a fantastic retelling of a greek legend. Romance, tragedy complete with betrayal, sacrifice, love, family questions about identity -Kamila delivered what I look for in a book - Moral complexity and rich writing.I admire the author’s courage to tackle a very difficult subject (radicalisation/grooming) with such sensitivity.The writing style is simple, unfussy. well observed and graceful. The writer has created strong clear believable characters which I cared about as a reader.I highly recommend this book.

una muy buena novela

c.u. · March 17, 2020

dentro de la tendencia actual a revivir mitos clásicos (Barker con la ILiada, Miller con Circe y tantos otros), Shamsie juega con Antígona en un escenario posmoderno de política, identidad y exilio. Buenos personajes y reflexiones sobre la modernidad.

Touching, changing, fairly unfair.

G.t. · May 27, 2020

The book as a product was amazing,I loved the cover.I story was okay I mean I didn't enjoy it so much. Might be because I had a view already of the book before I even read it. But some the lines and bits of the book stayed in my mind long after I completed it. It was so much based on the reality that I found it little unfair, but I guess that's what world is unfair. I loved how the writer portraits their helplessness against fate, also how each of the siblings decides to take action. It is kind of very touching, it reaches some unnamed, unrecognized parts of your heart and it's emotions.

Stunning in every way

D.J. · September 5, 2018

Incredibly well written novel providing insights that feel 100% genuine. What happens to families grieving the loss of loved ones, manipulated by external forces, and torn apart by circumstances often beyond their control? Home Fire explores all of this which has the reader feeling empathy even for the "enemy." The brainwashing (and that is not nearly a strong enough word for what happens to Parvaiz) is heart rending as is Aneeka's grief. This story will haunt you and have you asking "why? how? but?" as you watch the news which you will no longer take at face value. Powerful stuff.

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Home Fire: A Novel

Name: Home Fire: A Novel
Brand: Riverhead Books
SKU: U0735217696
Price: 9.46 BHD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.2 (9 reviews)

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