"Home Fire" by Kamila Shamsie

I listened to Home Fire on audio. It is a contemporary novel which explores the themes of what it is like to be a Muslim in a western country, how the war on terror has impacted traditionally Muslim communities and  whether assimilation means the loss of one's cultural identity or religion. I found this novel to be deeply moving and heartbreaking. At the center of it are three Pakistani-British siblings whose father died while being transported to Guantanamo. He was a jihadi who had fought in many hot spots in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East, and now his son is being approached by a man who paints a rosy picture of life in Syria. 

It is best to go into this book without knowing much more about the plot. It does focus on how such family history impacts the children this man left behind. Their mother also died and they are now adults trying to find their own way in the world. The book also does a great job showing how subtly radicalization can creep into someone's life. Ultimately, the novel is about the western society's myopic view of immigrant communities and their unwillingness to understand and embrace them. The story in the book is truly tragic and in some ways hopeless. 

I highly recommend this book. Audio format was fine, but sometimes transitions from one character to another were quite abrupt and not easy to follow. I do think it is because I listened to it on audio. 5 out of 5 stars.