2014-23 - Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie

23 - Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie
WHY I PICKED IT: Heard her interviewed on CBC Radio, and was intrigued
ELAPSED TIME: 10 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING


This book is really three inter-related sections.  The first section is set on the backdrop of the Nagasaki bomb and the partition of India. In this part of the book,Shamsie weaves in concepts of class and difference from a perspective that is rarely seen in North America. I would recommend this book on this section alone. So rarely does a writer introduce such concepts, with prose that is captivating. 

The second section brings us to a neighborhood in Karachi during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. We can see how some characters thrived, and others, despite having let pride get in their way, have made lives for themselves. Here Shamsie shows us that character is really a defining feature in who we are; more so than the opportunities that were available to us (by virtue of race and where we were born).

Finally, we have Afghanistan and the USA in a post 9/11 world. 20 years have passed. This part of the story builds on the themes from earlier in the book. Subtle commentary becomes more a feature in the story as issues of nationalism and opportunity show us how North Americans value a human lifedepending on where they were born and where they died, and the impact of US interventionist policy 20-years after they left Afghanistan to the Taliban. This is beautifully written, but (to me) didn't fit with the rest of the story as too much action and intrigue detracted from the characters and ideas that Shamsie had built up.

Shamsie writes characters that have warmth and depth, and that are beautiful and flawed. Best of all, she writes about nationalism and class, about war and the value of a human life.  This is a book, and these are characters, that will travel with me for some time to come.