Review: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Title: Home Fire
Author: Kamila Shamsie
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publish Date: August 15, 2017
Source: Library

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "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?"

My Two Cents:

In "Home Fire," Isma, Aneeka, and Parvaiz grew up without parents. Isma feels like she is finally free from having to care for her siblings and she flees England to go to school in America. Aneeka and Parvaiz are twins and Aneeka very much seems to find her identity in their twinhood and going to school. Parvaiz is looking for something more. He wants to understand his father, who he never knew and who has been branded by the country Parvaiz now calls home as a terrorist. This journey will lead him down a dangerous path where there may be no return from.

This book has so many twists and turns and really kept me on my toes. In addition to the story of the siblings, there is the story of the new Home Secretary and his son. The new Home Secretary is of Muslim descent and is seeking to show that he is tough on extremists. His son is seeking his own life outside of his father's shadow. The Home Secretary's family and the siblings will clash in unbelievable ways that really shake this book up.

This book has a lot of universal themes, which makes for a lot of its appeal. You have the siblings questioning what they will do for family. You have several of the characters questioning their identities and what makes who we are as individuals. There is so much to mull over and this book is one that really sticks with you.

There were a lot of parts of this book that were quite shocking but the ending, oh, the ending. I really, really don't want to give anything away but the ending is one of those that you have to read a few times just because it is so shocking. It doesn't exactly give you closure but in this case, the ending really works well.