Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this book in return for a fair and frank review.

Initially I loved this book. I loved all the descriptions of life in Karachi and some were so well written I felt like I was there. I loved both characters, their similarities and their differences, especially their social class. Both girls were so well written and I read up to 68% when I lost interest. Both girls were now women living and working in the UK but their characters were just boring. I was so disappointed in this as I was so enjoying it. The pages and pages of narrative about places, gardens, outdoors and other such things went on for so long the book could have been half the size. I feel let down by the author.

Easy reading, thoughtful and well written book. It makes you question your friendships too! Following them from childhood to adult it shows friendship and betrayal.

As ever Shamsie writes a story that you want to read. Brilliant story telling that I wish wouldn't end.

I loved Shamsie's previous novel, Home Fire, and this one was equally thought-provoking and fascinating. Thank you for the ARC!

I absolutely loved the first section of this book. The story starts in Karachi with best friends Maryam and Zahara growing up under the shadow of General Zia’s dictatorship. I learned a lot about the political history of Pakistan and was inspired to read more in order to better understand the story. There was so much brooding menace I was almost afraid to turn the pages.

For me, the momentum fell away in the latter sections when the girls and their story moved to London. The tension and sense of impending doom that had been building didn’t really seem to go anywhere. Perhaps that’s not what the author intended.

As a novel which focused on the importance of female friendship this worked well. It was interesting to see how Zahara and Maryam managed to maintain their friendship throughout their very different lives but I would have liked more of Pakistan because for me Karachi was by far the most interesting character.

'A new Kamila Shamsie novel is always worth celebrating, but Best of Friends is something else: an epic story that explores the ties of childhood friendship, the possibility of escape, the way the political world intrudes into the personal, all through the lens of two sharply drawn protagonists'

This novel deserves all the praise it is getting. It was moving, deft, clever, kind and funny. I loved the characters, their relationship, and what the novel said about friendships and their importance in our lives. Incredible

This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed it, perhaps the first third of the book more, the pace did dip after that and I didn’t feel overly invested in the main characters which was a shame as it was a really good start.

The story of two friends from school days in Pakistan to their adult lives in different parts of the world, this is a heart-warming and poignant tale of how our experiences shape our lives. It is so beautifully written that it brilliantly evokes a sense of time and place, and represents the changing dynamics of a long-lasting and at times sorely tried friendship. I loved it and would heartily recommend it. It was my first experience of reading a Kamila Shamsie novel and I will be looking out for the rest of her novels in our local bookshops.

Interesting to some extent. But I didn’t really feel convinced by the characters or the plot. Disappointing as I’ve loved her other novels.

I loved this book; especially the first part set in Pakistan. The tension created by Shamsie was palpable as the country went through profound political turmoil which had a profound effect on the girls and their family and friends.
I felt the second part, set in London, was not as gripping, hence the 4 stars.

I enjoyed this novel about two friends from Karachi, both from wealthy families. It’s 1988, and a time of great change in Pakistan. The dictatorship is over, and Benazir Bhutto is set to become Prime Minister.

Maryam and Zahra make a poor decision after a party that has consequences for many years.

Thirty years later both women live in London. They both have the best educations that money can buy, and a Oxbridge degree each. They’re both hugely successful in their chosen professions, and regularly see the seedier side of their professions (mainly corrupt politicians).

But when someone from their past reappears, questionable decisions are made once again. I was mentally shouting at the character involved for her utter stupidity, and I was really surprised that Maryam and Zehra’s friendship survived this at all - I don’t know as I would be as forgiving. There was a point where I wasn’t so sure that the friendship would survive though.

I liked this, and I’m aware from reading other reviews that it’s very much a marmite book. Love it or hate it: I loved it.

This novel follows the lives of two best friends from Pakistan - Zahra and Maryam - who attend the same school despite being from very different backgrounds. Their childhood together is described through key events such as the assassination of the military dictator, school parties and their changing bodies. The second half of the novel is concerned with their lives as adults, and both women have now relocated to London. Beautifully written, this is a thoughtful and evocative novel rather than a plot-driven page turner.

First things first, this is not Home Fire, but it’s really good! Some similarities to Home Fire, but a much deeper look at friendship and the love that runs within families and chosen families. I really enjoyed the writing, the pace of it and the familiar setting of London alongside their childhood story in Pakistan. Really readable.

Set in Pakistan and London, Best of Friends tells the story of childhood friends, Maryam and Zahra, growing up in Karachi in the 1980s. This is Shamsie's first novel since winning the Womens Prize for Fiction in 2018 with Home Fires, a book I really enjoyed.

Pakistan in the 1980s was a time of great political and social turmoil. Dictator, General Zia had just been overthrown as President and replaced by Benazir Bhutto, becoming the first Muslim woman to lead a democratic government. Its this tension and uncertainty which forms the backdrop to the early part of the story. Maryam and Zahra come from comfortable middle class background. However the conservative city of Karachi is not a safe place for two teenage girls who are drawn to danger and excitement. Fast forward 20 years to London where both women now live and work. Maryam is a very successful venture capitalist, Zahra is Head of the UK Centre for Civil Liberties. Both are at the top of their game and very successful in their own fields. Yet both are still affected by a pivotal event which took place when they were teenagers.

While I generally enjoyed the book, it felt too long, especially the chapters relating to the girls teenage years. The "central event" which both women referred to constantly was overplayed and melodramatic, There were also far too many coincidences in the final chapters in a clumsy attempt to wrap up couple of storylines. A good read but underwhelming. Perhaps my expectations were too high after the joy of "Home Fires"

The book is set in the late 1980s in Karachi and then 30 years later in London. There is no flip flopping, it's a linear timeline.

We first meet Maryam and Zahra as 14 year old best friends. I learnt quite a few things I didn't know about life in Karachi in the 80s but I wasn't really drawn into the characters of the two girls.

I felt like giving up reading this book, but decided to wait and see if the book was different once the girls were older. I'm pleased to say that for me it did improve but I still didn't love it. The writing was good and certainly highlighted political and social media issues. It covered the friendship that lasted 30 years. However, for me it moved far too slowly. I felt I wasn't progressing in understanding the lives of the two girls as I turned each page.

The book has had many rave reviews, but for me it didn't hit the spot.

A really gripping read with a surprise ending that I wasn’t expecting. The description of growing up in Pakistan is very well done and interesting

From Zia’s Pakistan, 1988, to London Spring of 2020. Childhood friendships for a lifetime

I finished Shamsie’s easy to read, strong narrative and fully rounded character latest book, feeling like my heart, my mind, my viscera had been expertly pulled into any number of places

Of course, we need news, to help us think about world events, but maybe it is the LEAST imaginative of us, rather than the most, who needs FICTION to help us understand and truly feel the lives of others. Or needs the kind of fiction this is.

Shamsie has taken me before deeply into the lives and complexity of British Asian identities.

In this book, she initially focuses on two teenage girls in Karachi, during the period of General Zia’s dictatorship, but, far more universally, on the strong friendships which children, then adolescents, make, and which may, (or may not) last a life time. Both girls, Zahra and Maryam, are privileged daughters. Maryam is wealthier, her lineage that of a very successful high fashion leather goods manufacturer, moneyed capitalism. Zahra’s family more intellectual, dangerously critical of the authoritarian regime.

Over and above this, though, are the usual concerns and fascinations that young teenage girls, beginning to develop teenage bodies have

And to something which may challenge or change the trajectory of that friendship.

Jump forward to London in Spring 1999

From girls aged 14 to women in their 40s, what has changed, what has stayed the same, and will the past have unfinished business?

Well of course it will.

I found this a brilliant read – not least in the forensic way in which the cruelties of the immigration system in this country – particularly the practices of the present Government, are given flesh, blood, and many shed tears to take the reader into the human lives of those statistics.

After enjoying home fire I was excited to pick this up. The first half was engaging, entertaining and brilliant but unfortunately when the story skips forward in time it became dry and boring and I nearly did not finish. Shame.

A deep dive into the nature of friendship with the characters of Maryam and Zahra, who have been best friends since they grew up together as girls in Karachi. The women stayed friends even as both transitioned into very different adult lives in London. Maryam and Zahra are very different, and always have been, but some undefinable quality in their friendship has always meant that they were close despite this; but amidst the politics and power struggles of their older lives their friendship has to go under the test. Halfway through the narrative switches from Karachi in the eighties to London in the noughties which is initially jarring but quickly became much more interesting to me.

I found all of characters very likeable and engaging and overall found this both an easy but also a profoundly insightful read. There’s an interesting ending that I’m still thinking about!

My thanks to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.