WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
WINNER OF THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2017
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DSC PRIZE FOR SOUTH ASIAN LITERATURE 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017
'A BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2017' - GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN, EVENING STANDARD, NEW YORK TIMES
'The book for our times' Judges of the Women's Prize
'Elegant and evocative ... A powerful exploration of the clash between society, family and faith in the modern world' Guardian
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.
Isma, Aneeka and Parvaiz know what it is to view the state as your antagonist. The father who abandoned them in childhood was a jihadi, and the siblings have grown up in London fearing the watchful eyes of their government. While Isma finds solace in academia, Parvaiz embarks on a far darker path.
When Isma strikes up a friendship with Eamonn, the attractive son of the UK's most powerful Muslim politician, she must decide how much of her family history to reveal. But her choices have unintended consequences when Eamonn meets her beautiful sister Aneeka, unaware of the collision course that their families are on...
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie pulls no punches; recasting the Greek tragedy
Antigone in a contemporary mix of Isis, rendition and torture seen through a family lens ... The charge is quickly lit and the novel builds to an unbearably powerful ending
