Reviews

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

bestys_bookcase's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

knapier5's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mcmoon's review against another edition

3.0

I like the writing style of this book. I also love the opening two chapters, Isma's story. But the plot doesn't engage all the way through, nor does the book evoke much sympathy for its characters. Instead it self-consciously explores the war on terror and the experience of Muslims in Britain. The focus is one Pakistani immigrant family in England, whose paths cross with another family that has political influence. The book shifts in perspective from one character to the next, never returning to former perspectives, which makes it feel like a collection of short stories/vignettes that have been stitched together. If the goal was to emphasize the multiplicity of perspectives and motives, the novel doesn't make that point in a way that serves the story. I finished it feeling emotionally numb, like I might after watching a few hours of CNN.

However, after doing some research on the book, I realized it was inspired, in part, by Antigone, and the author's goal was to do a modern retelling of the Antigone story. This helped me understand the text better, and I think it does have echoes of that story, including the characters' names (for example Isma=Ismene), which made it seem more intriguing suddenly.

annie_lu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Gut-wrenching story that will leave me thinking for days in its wake. 

ja_aska's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

ser427's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

glaws's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emaybury's review against another edition

4.0

Oh, my heart aches.

I’ve been so deeply immersed in personal reflections on religious extremism, nationalism, grief, family obligation, and cruel pride these past weeks. I was surprised to find myself so absorbed in a novel that pushed me farther into the complexities and pains of these themes, but I finished it in one sitting and now long to be in the first chapters of the story again.

goudaparanoia's review against another edition

3.0

I'm certain I would have enjoyed this more if I read it vs. listened to it.

miekookeim's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0