fiction
Home Fire is a heartbreaking family drama centered around 3
siblings of Pakistani heritage, raised in London. Their family had suffered
great loss during their childhoods—first the disappearance of their father who
ran off to be a jihadist, then the death of their grandmother, and then the
death of their mother when the older daughter was 18 years old and the twins
were 12 years old. Now that the twins
are 19 years old, the family’s story is told in five segments, each from a
different person’s point of view.
The structuring of this novel was very well done. Each point of view moved the overarching
story forward but also enlightened previous segments. All of the points of view were interesting
and educated me about lives and cultures very different from my own. The pacing
was perfect. I thought it was going to be a sort of romance at the beginning
but that is not what the novel is about. Kamila Shamsie’s story-telling technique.
Particularly regarding touchy subject matter, was impressive. I liked the
characters enough to want to keep reading to find out how things turned out.
The ending was one of the most stunning endings I’ve read recently.
The story makes the reader think about the ways people are
motivated and the forces that cause people to take action. Manipulation, belief systems, cultures,
desperation, parenting, idealism, finances, relationships, family histories,
burdens, freedoms, and self-worth all inform peoples’ choices and behaviors. Issues regarding immigration,
multi-ethnicity, and citizenship are raised. The reader also gets insight about
how young people can be recruited and radicalized by groups like ISIS. It is
also a cautionary tale about what could go wrong when political motivation
supersedes humanity. It was a very worthwhile read.
The narrator, Tania Rodrigues, was spectacular. She has a wide range of accents and her voice acting was pretty darn perfect. A+
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