Kamila Shamsie’s latest novel explores the dynamics of female friendship against the backdrop of political and financial desires and decisions.
We first meet Zahra and Maryam in Pakistan as 14 year olds returning to school. Zahra, a star pupil and the daughter of a popular cricket broadcaster, is from a different socio-economic class than Maryam, who expects to inherit the substantial and influential family business from her wealthy grandfather. They already have a decade of solid friendship behind them, and Shamsie expertly captures the nuances of their teenage uncertainty as they handle their changing bodies, personal desires and increasing awareness of their subjection to the male gaze. Within a context of personal and political change and impatient for their domestic and communal freedom, they attend an ordinary teenage party one evening where their impulsive actions change the future course of their lives.
Thirty years later we catch up with them again in a post-Brexit London where both of them are successful immigrants, albeit in different ways and at different ends of the political spectrum. The return of a figure from their past exposes the fissures and roots in their relationship, raising questions about what binds two people to each other and how far a friendship can reshape itself when fundamental motivations are so different. Maryam has always wanted position, whilst Zahra is driven by purpose.
The first part of the novel is perhaps more convincing and evocative than the second which offers a subtle picture of the women the girls have become and the way in which their relationship has developed, but is all a little muted and subdued by comparison. Like the characters, it was the shared history from their childhood that kept me invested in my relationship with them, and I felt the balance between developing character and using them to reflect on the political context shifted a little in favour of the latter. It was, however, a joy to read two female protagonists with such well-drawn and complex characters.
Whilst the ambiguous ending will not be for everyone, I generally found this an enjoyable read, with some beautiful writing, that conveyed some of the complexities and mysteries of long term female friendship.
We first meet Zahra and Maryam in Pakistan as 14 year olds returning to school. Zahra, a star pupil and the daughter of a popular cricket broadcaster, is from a different socio-economic class than Maryam, who expects to inherit the substantial and influential family business from her wealthy grandfather. They already have a decade of solid friendship behind them, and Shamsie expertly captures the nuances of their teenage uncertainty as they handle their changing bodies, personal desires and increasing awareness of their subjection to the male gaze. Within a context of personal and political change and impatient for their domestic and communal freedom, they attend an ordinary teenage party one evening where their impulsive actions change the future course of their lives.
Thirty years later we catch up with them again in a post-Brexit London where both of them are successful immigrants, albeit in different ways and at different ends of the political spectrum. The return of a figure from their past exposes the fissures and roots in their relationship, raising questions about what binds two people to each other and how far a friendship can reshape itself when fundamental motivations are so different. Maryam has always wanted position, whilst Zahra is driven by purpose.
The first part of the novel is perhaps more convincing and evocative than the second which offers a subtle picture of the women the girls have become and the way in which their relationship has developed, but is all a little muted and subdued by comparison. Like the characters, it was the shared history from their childhood that kept me invested in my relationship with them, and I felt the balance between developing character and using them to reflect on the political context shifted a little in favour of the latter. It was, however, a joy to read two female protagonists with such well-drawn and complex characters.
Whilst the ambiguous ending will not be for everyone, I generally found this an enjoyable read, with some beautiful writing, that conveyed some of the complexities and mysteries of long term female friendship.