Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie FRSL (born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel '' Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has be ...
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
for fiction."Kamila Shamsie , Burnt Shadows" Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards.
Plot synopsis
In four sections, ''Burnt Shadows'' follows the intersecting histories of two families, beginning in the final days of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
on the brink of partition in 1947, to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
in the early 1980s, and then to New York in the aftermath of 9/11 and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in the wake of the ensuing US bombing campaign.
In the prologue, an unidentified prisoner finds himself naked in a cell in Guantanamo, wondering: "How did it come to this?" The main story then begins in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...
in 1945, with Hiroko Tanaka, a 21-year-old teacher-turned-munitions worker who is in love with the German Konrad Weiss. Their idyllic romance ends in tragedy, with a fatal flash that leaves Konrad a "burnt shadow" on the ground, and indelibly sears the birds on Hiroko's kimono into the skin of her back. In search of new beginnings, Hiroko travels to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
. She stays with Konrad's half-sister, Ilse, now known as Elizabeth, and her husband, James Burton. She begins to learn
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' partition of India, Hiroko's world turns upside down once again, and she finds a new life in newly-created Pakistan. In
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, Hiroko and Sajjad's son Raza is born. He meets a CIA operative, who is none other than Harry Burton, Ilse and James' son. Ilse has meanwhile reclaimed her Identity, divorced James, and moved to New York. Raza finds himself, naively, swept up into the
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
movement in Afghanistan. When she loses Sajjad as well, Hiroko moves to New York to be near Ilse. Though the women have not seen each other in decades, they find themselves deeply bound to each other.
Harry has meanwhile extracted Raza from his unsought extremist associations, and instead, offers him a career in the private security/intelligence sector. The parallel convergence of the families in New York and Afghanistan is the foundation from which both tragedy and support arise. Above ground zero, as she once stood over her destroyed home city, Hiroko becomes attached to Harry's daughter Kim, and meets an Afghani taxi driver who becomes a key player in the dramatic events that follow.
Reception
''Burnt Shadows'' was generally well received by critics.
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', praises the book as hugely ambitious, Shamsie's voice as "clear and compelling", and admires the use of both Eastern and Western literary references and poetry in Shamsie's style and narratives. She writes: "The identity of the Guantánamo captive remains unclear till the powerful denouement, as events unfold with a malign logic whereby even a man's stooping for a cricket ball can be fatally misconstrued. Any reader anticipating a predictable yarn about the radicalisation of Islamist youth may feel cheated. Far more, I suspect, will feel challenged and enlightened, possibly provoked, and undoubtedly enriched." Writing for
the Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
, Charlie Lee Potter says: "The grasp of language, the subtlety of expression and the sheer mastery of international politics are all impressive. And so, too, are the details: family loyalties, national allegiances, betrayals, the sometimes misguided desire we have to protect our children from the truth." Like other reviews, Potter takes on the question of whether the broad strokes of history employed by Shamsie are effective, and he answers with "a resounding, thumping, capitalised YES".
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
reviewer Adrienne Celt finds one weakness in ''Burnt Shadows'': "Shamsie does a beautiful job of building worlds, only to take them away again in a sudden and breathless fashion." She disagrees with Potter, finding that, "At home in implication and poetics, Shamsie is able to make us draw breath at the slightest touch, and as such it's somewhat disappointing that she insists on using so many broad narrative strokes." However, she also opines that "''Burnt Shadows'' does a compelling job of implicating the world in our minute heartbreaks; of teasing out the potential for politics, however distant they may feel, to break into our seemingly self-contained existences and make hash of our plans."
According to the ''
Kirkus
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' review of ''Burnt Shadows'': "Wit, formidable imagination and intricate, well-worked characterizations distinguish the twisty narrative... With a rare combination of skill and sensitivity, Shamsie generates pathos for outsiders and the displaced." The ''San Francisco Book Review'''s Susan Gardner writes, "Throughout the sweep of political tides, as relationships and connections are made, get broken, are renewed or severed, the cast of characters expands and are superbly woven in to the fabric of this beautifully written novel. Shamsie is a lyrical writer, with a keen eye for detail and a poignant way of phrasing every-day observations that feel new when she voices them."
World Book Club
''World Book Club'' is a radio programme on the BBC World Service. Each edition of the programme, which is broadcast on the first Saturday of the month with repeats into the following Monday, features a famous author discussing one of his or her ...