Home Fire

Home Fire is a novel by Kamila Shamsie that tells the story of two sisters and their brother who are all affected by the radicalization of their brother. The novel is set in London and America and explores the themes of family, identity, and divided loyalties. It was critically acclaimed and was named one of the best books of the year by many publications.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2017 LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017 A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 AN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 'Elegant and evocative ... A powerful exploration of the clash between society, family and faith in the modern world' Guardian 'There is high, high music in the air at the end of Home Fire' New York Times 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 birthright to live up to - or defy. Is he to be a chance at love? 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 reimagining 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. Review: A powerful exploration of the clash between society, family and faith in the modern world * Guardian * Brave and brilliant ... shocking and strangely beautiful * Sunday Times * Fearless but hugely troubling ... one pays it the highest compliment one can pay fiction: it makes you think. Uncomfortably * The Times * A timely rejoinder to all the cant and prejudice. An intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written novel about family, identity and divided loyalties * Mail on Sunday * Occasionally you know that one of the writers alive at the same time as you has written the book they were born to write ... Home Fire has lit a light that'll never go out; Shamsie's version of Antigone reveals the ancient tragedy we're living now -- Ali Smith * Guardian, Books of the Year * A modern retelling of Antigone set among a family divided by politics, love, and radicalism. In fewer than 300 pages, it managed to do all the things I want novels to do - tell me something about the world, give me a tiny glimpse into the otherness of others, and, most of all, give me that ache of longing as I turned the last page and realised I would never meet these characters again -- Tahmima Anam * Observer, Best Books of the Year * Why do some people become radicalised? It's a question I've explored with experts on-air, but perhaps fiction can provide greater insight. Kamila Shamsie's powerful novel Home Fire, inspired by Sophocles's Antigone, did just that -- Martha Kearney * Observer, Best Books of the Year * I very much enjoyed and admired Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, a politically and psychologically acute novel modelled on Sophocles's Antigone - but reworked as the story of two British Muslim sisters and their jihadist brother -- Emily Wilson * New Statesman, 'Books of the Year' * I enjoyed Kamila Shamsie's Man Booker-longlisted Home Fire, which does a great job of bringing Sophocles's Antigone into the world of Skype and Isis. Shamsie's writing resonates on the human, political and lyrical plane but its topicality, tight plot and vivid characterisation also suggest a film script in the making -- Melissa Benn * New Statesman, 'Books of the Year' * Seeking a template for these dark and strange days many works have modernised Greek dramas ... A particularly classy example was Home Fire, in which Kamila Shamsie relocates Antigone by Sophocles to Western and Eastern capitals during the war on terror -- Mark Lawson * New Statesman, Books of the Year 2017 * An