Home Fire: WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 (Bloomsbury Publishing) Paperback – 22 Mar. 2018

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.

This is an interesting account of how a young person can be cleverly deceived and become radicalised in comparatively recent times, and for that alone it is illuminating and well worth reading. The mainly young characters are diverse and vividly depicted; a sense of unease is subtly developed, alongside some powerfully devoted emotions. The political slants are perhaps less convincing. There is some jumping between different narratives, which occasionally jars, but one becomes used to it. However, it is not a joyful book, so don't expect happy endings.

Loved this book. it's thought provoking and gives a good perspective on something I wouldn't perhaps have ever really considered in the past.

Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire won this year's Women's Prize for Fiction. It's about two British families with a Pakistani background. The Pasha family are three siblings living in Wembley: their parents are dead and Isma, now 28, has essentially been in loco parentis to her twin siblings Aneeka and Parvaiz for the last seven years. Eamonn is the son of a British Pakistani father, Karamat Lone, and an Irish American mother. When Eamonn meets Isma while she's studying in the USA, he becomes involved with the Pasha family.What complicates things, however, is that the Pashas' absent father was a jihadi who was captured and killed in Afghanistan, and Parvaiz seems determined to follow in his footsteps ... while Eamonn's father is the Home Secretary.We see the events of the novel through the eyes of various characters - Isma, Aneeka, Parvaiz, Eamonn and Karamat - and I found their differing attitudes to family, identity, Britishness and Islam interesting. I also enjoyed the contrast between the privileges Eamonn enjoys - he appears not to be particularly bright, but has had a lucrative job as a management consultant, is wealthy enough to take a sabbatical and is offered a job by a friend in a field in which he has no experience - and the difficulties experienced by Isma as a young Muslim woman with caring responsibilities.Each character has some flaws, some very serious, but for the most part, I found their thought processes convincing and understandable even when I was horrified by the decisions they made. I say 'for the most part' because I did feel that the character of Aneeka became less and less convincing as the story unfolded, and towards the end I simply didn't believe in her any more. In fact, I found the gradual, chilling indoctrination of Parvaiz, who goes from being an affable teenager who campaigns to save his local library to being persuaded to join an Islamic terror cell, more convincing than Aneeka's reaction to it.The problem is that the plot of this book is based on Sophocles' Antigone, and while the themes of Greek tragedy might be universal, I don't think the actual mechanics of Antigone's plot necessarily work in a contemporary setting. The behaviour of Aneeka (and to an extent Eamonn) simply didn't ring true for me and this marred my enjoyment of the book.

It was a bit of a political theme. It was probably not a book I would have chosen but it gave rise to an interesting and thought-provoking discussion in our book group.

This is a book of contrasts and contradictions – love/hate, family/friendship, knowledge/ignorance, politics/religion, tyranny/democracy.This is a very different book from my usual reading genres and was chosen by my reading group. At first I found it difficult to identify all the different characters and to give them ‘faces’ but as the narrative progressed this became easier. As the writing concentrates on different characters in each section, we do not learn all the events in precise chronological order, which increases the tension.Big sister Isma, at university in the US, meets Eamonn a charming young Brit. As an unmarried Muslim woman, she does not allow the relationship to progress. Back home in London he meets younger sister Aneeka and their ensuing relationship moves on a pace, religion notwithstanding, and they both realise they have fallen in love. However, Aneeka’s original purpose was to get to Eamon’s father (Home Secretary) in order to secure safe passage home of her twin brother who has gone to Syria to join IS.Much of the book concentrates on the relationships between these key characters, and lesser ones, and the effects of coercion and political and religious restraints on each of them. We learn uncomfortable facts about life in the camps for IS fighters and the contrast for the indigenous population, and also about British Muslims in the UK. The more we learn about the families, the more we can empathise with their different situations and dilemmas.The book gets increasingly serious and the pace and tone change until the final denouement.This is a truly exceptional piece of writing and stands alone; but it is also very interesting to see how the author has used an ancient text (Antigone) so skilfully in the 21st century to reach a completely new audience. Even her choice of names is intriguing. I didn’t look at the original text until I had finished Home Fire to avoid looking for comparisons and perhaps becoming distracted.I am very glad I read this, but I am unlikely to re-read as it is too disturbing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.❤️✌🏻❤️✌🏻