Mini-Reviews: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie/ I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith/Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

I listened to the audiobook of Home Fire by Kamia Shamsie which I purchased through Chirp. I congratulate the narrator for her clarity and her ability to voice the characters so clearly and elegantly.

The story begins when a British Muslim woman, Isma, is studying in America and runs into a man she knew about from home, the son of a man prominent in British politician who has dissociated himself from his Muslim heritage; he was also responsible for the death of her father who had become a jihadist. With the death of her mother, Isma raised her younger twin siblings Aneeka and Parvaiz. Now they are grown, she is finishing her studies.

Isma comes to like Eamonn, although his wealth and privilege has protected him. He is recalled to Britain where he meets the beautiful Aneeka, who makes use of his attraction to insinuate herself into his life. For she has need of power to bring her twin brother home after he was groomed and lured into the jihadist world.

A modern retelling of Antigone, the story is a wonderful exploration of family bonds versus the political and societal prejudices that force immigrants to choose between their cultural and religious heritage and assimilating into Western society.

Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie

read by Tania Rodrigues

Penguin Random House

Release Date: August 15, 2017
Unabridged Audiobook $15.00

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION

Longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize

The suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences

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?

*****

I have seen I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith mentioned as a favorite by many across social media. I picked up the 1948 edition at a library sale, and after seeing the movie based on it, decided I needed to read this book this winter as an anodyne to the anxiety of the pandemic.

The novel consists of journal entries by a young woman on the verge of womanhood who observes her family and her surroundings with great insight, with love, but also objectivity. She is able to dissect and identify the foibles of her family. Her self-awareness is quite remarkable as she struggles with her desires, her relationships, and even her faith (or lack of faith).

I think the intimacy of the novel allows so many readers to identify with the heroine. 

This is not a novel of big ideas or high adventure, twists, or thrills. It is human in scale.  Smith writes with an awareness of human frailty; her scenes of great amusement and humor do not diminish her characters. These are characters we care about. They are original, vivid, and conflicted. 

I can see why so many have enjoyed this novel. It certainly was a balm.

*****

The opposite of a comforting read is Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell. The story of William Shakespeare's wife and family makes for the best kind of historical fiction, a literary gem that transports readers into another world that is  alien and yet very familiar, thanks to the depth of the characters.

O'Farrell imagines William meeting and falling in love with Agnes, a strange woman who practices herbal remedies and wanders alone through the fields and woods with her pet falcon. 

William's unhappiness with rural life inspires Agnes to suggest he expand his father's business in London, where he becomes involved with he theater. He supports his family and visits several times a year, while Agnes raises their children. 

O'Farrell follows the path of the plague across the world until it reaches Agnes's twin children. Hamnet's protectiveness of his twin leads to dire consequences. 

This story of grief is one more 2020 book whose timing was serendipitous. At a time when millions mourn, O'Farrell has given us a luminous story of grief.

Hamnet is a Top Ten Best Books of 2020 by the New York Times, and winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction.

I purchased a copy of the book.