Kamila Shamsie’s ‘Home Fire’ is a Greek tragedy for modern times

Home FireAuthor: Kamila ShamsiePublisher: Bloomsbury, contemporary fiction

Kamila Shamsie, who now calls London home and holds dual citizenship in Pakistan and Britain, sets her seventh novel, Home Fire, against the tumult of contemporary British politics of Brexit, immigration rights, and strengthening conservatism of its ruling class.

Home Fire is based on Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, in which the eponymous young Theban woman of the play confronts Creon, the ruler, for the right to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial. Polyneices is deemed a traitor to the state for attempting to wage war on Thebes.