A nuanced exploration of the ties of friendship.
In the first half of this dual-timeline, thought-provoking story I loved how the author combined a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of the friendship between Zahra and Maryam with how the start of their journey towards adulthood was taking place against the background of the political and social change which was erupting in Pakistan in 1988. The evocative clarity of Shamsie’s observations enabled me to feel that I was inhabiting their inner-worlds, sharing not only their all too recognisable adolescent concerns about their changing bodies, their relationships with boys, love of pop music, the stress of exams etc, but also their expectations and dreams of what their futures would hold and their total conviction that, whatever happened, their cherished friendship would remain a constant. Having grown up under the fearful dictatorship of General Zia, his death, followed by the election of Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister, offers both girls the hope that anything will now be possible for them, that they will no longer have to feel fearful just for being a woman. However, their nascent hopes are soon shattered by a shocking and frightening incident following a party, one which not only exposes their vulnerability as young women but, in its aftermath, shifts the dynamic of their relationship. As a result of that incident Maryam is sent to an English boarding school to complete her education, leaving Zahra in Karachi to continue hers. The girls are confident their friendship is so strong and special enough to survive any separation … but will it? As the reader discovers when the timeline of the story abruptly moves forwards three decades, it does but it soon becomes clear that repercussions from the fateful evening have continued to echo down the decades, shaping their futures and, ultimately, affecting the nature and balance of their relationship.
The second half of the story is set in 2019 in London. Both women have become highly-successful in their chosen careers, albeit operating at different ends of the political and social spectrum, with Maryam operating as a venture capitalist whilst Zahra has become a human rights lawyer and is now the director of the Centre for Civil Liberties. Their different trajectories enabled the author to explore the complexities of a wide range of themes, including contemporary political, social and racial issues, experiences of being an immigrant, abuse of power, misogyny, patriarchy, as well as the changing nature of Maryam and Zahra’s abiding friendship and their different perceptions of their shared history. Although I found many aspects of this second half of the story interesting and thought-provoking, it seldom felt quite as emotionally engaging as the sense of intimacy which I felt reading the first half. However, I think the author’s portrayal of the characters’ reactions, and interactions, when ‘ghosts’ from the past reappear in their lives, finally forcing them, as they spend New Year’s Eve 2019 together, to confront unpalatable truths about that fateful night in Karachi, was both masterful and devastating … and the ambiguity of the ending felt perfect!
The second half of the story is set in 2019 in London. Both women have become highly-successful in their chosen careers, albeit operating at different ends of the political and social spectrum, with Maryam operating as a venture capitalist whilst Zahra has become a human rights lawyer and is now the director of the Centre for Civil Liberties. Their different trajectories enabled the author to explore the complexities of a wide range of themes, including contemporary political, social and racial issues, experiences of being an immigrant, abuse of power, misogyny, patriarchy, as well as the changing nature of Maryam and Zahra’s abiding friendship and their different perceptions of their shared history. Although I found many aspects of this second half of the story interesting and thought-provoking, it seldom felt quite as emotionally engaging as the sense of intimacy which I felt reading the first half. However, I think the author’s portrayal of the characters’ reactions, and interactions, when ‘ghosts’ from the past reappear in their lives, finally forcing them, as they spend New Year’s Eve 2019 together, to confront unpalatable truths about that fateful night in Karachi, was both masterful and devastating … and the ambiguity of the ending felt perfect!