Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Shamsie is a great writer and this book is no exception, exploring the nuances of female friendship and the complexities of class, politics and privilege that can come between even the greatest friends, as well as the tensions of misogyny and sexual harrassment that underpin most women's everyday existence. Maryam and Zahra are concisely drawn but engaging characters, and their positions at opposing ends of the political spectrum in the second half of the book makes for a narrative that feels like it's inevitably hurtling towards a foregone conclusion. But Shamsie doesn't do cliche, and her ending reflects that.

This was an intricately written novel that delved into the complexities of long-lasting friendship and examined the hierarchy of power. It left me thinking about the characters and their decisions long after I’d turned the final page. The book tried to tackled other social and political issues on the side, but at a certain point I felt that the inclusion of some felt forced, as if the author was ticking off a checklist.

Maryam and Zahra’s story was split up into two sections, the first following them as teenagers and the second when they’re adults with well-established careers. I thought the portrayal of teenage friendship was very realistic – a time when moments could swing suddenly between silly and serious. The girls were completely different, with different backgrounds, but their friendship still felt authentic. They each had their unique flaws and insecurities, as well as attributes which made them good friends. I personally preferred the section after the time jump as I liked seeing how their journeys panned out. I felt that both of the paths they took made sense for them.

The pivotal incident happened in the centre of the book. The scene crept up on me without me realising the potential severity of the situation. The event was described as a crossroads in Maryam and Zahra’s lives and friendship. It had a psychological impact on the two girls, exposing to them the full extent of the power imbalance between men and women.

A recurring question weaved into the novel asked whether principles or loyalty was more important in friendship. When the spectres from that doomed night reappeared in Maryam and Zahra’s lives, their reactions solidified their answer to that central debate. The stark difference between the way each handled the situation made me wonder how they had gone on for so long without dredging up their past. Even though their ultimate showdown was brutal – they each knew exactly how to make the other hurt – the ambiguous ending was still satisfying.

Overall, this was a masterfully written novel which delved into the unique bond forged between childhood friends and explored the allure and abuse of power. These elements made for a thought-provoking read.

Would I recommend?… Yes, the characters’ decisions may frustrate you but the journey will be worth it

Maryam and Zahra have been friends since childhood, so long that they can barely remember a time before they knew each other, despite their different backgrounds. Maryam was born into privilege; the granddaughter of a wealthy Karachi businessman, destined to take over the family firm one day. Her family is one with connections - to rich government insiders, to the 'fixer' who sorts out any little problems encountered in the business and factory; if something needs sorting, they know a way. Zahra's family, while comfortably wealthy, is not in the same league; her mother is a teacher, her father a TV cricket commentator, both opponents of Pakistan's dictator, General Zia.
At fourteen, in 1988 as Pakistan throws off its dictatorship, and elects Benazir Bhutto, they're inseparable. With a woman in charge of the country, anything suddenly seems possible.Then one night something happens that derails their futures.
The story picks up in London, in 2019, when both are now successful women. Maryam is a venture capitalist with an interest in hi tech and social media, happy to exploit government connections to further her business deals; Zahra, the head of a civil liberties organisation, fighting the government's immigration policies. Somehow the two are still firm friends, until an acquaintance from the old days in Karachi turns up, and their instinctive reactions prove how different their morals are.

While primarily a novel about the sort of friendship that lasts a lifetime, one that withstands disagreements and challenges, it's also about money and power, the advantages they offer in life, and how both can be used for good or bad.
In comparison to, say, Shamsie's previous novel, Home Fire, the story seems a slow burn; the emphasis being on character development rather than events, but it's enjoyable and well worth reading. In fact, it wasn't till the absolute last section, set during the first lockdown of 2020, that I felt all the pieces slotting into place.

This book is based around the friendship of two Pakistani girls, Maryam and Zahra, from two very different backgrounds and journey over several years and the impact of this on their friendship. It provides a real insight into what life in Pakistan is like which I really enjoyed reading about.

Though very well written the story was as slow read at times but the topic and characters kept me interested and I read it through to the end.

I'd read more from this author again,

In Best of Friends we meet 2 young girls, with very different backgrounds, Maryam and Zahra, despite their differences they bond and their friendship grows.
Fast forward several years and we meet the now grown up friends and despite everything they are still as close.
This is my 1st book by this author and I did enjoy it, although there were times I found it a little slow.
I will be looking out for more by this author as I feel there is a lot more to her

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

i liked the premise but there was something a bit frustrating and dramatic about this friendship...the latter half of the novel in particular annoyed me.

The story is basically about two girls born in Pakistan. Zahra is the daughter of a school teacher and a father is a cricket commentator. Their background is good. Mayram was born into money and luxury. Her family own and run a luxury leather business which she wants to take over when she is old enough from her grandfather who says he will pass the business to her as her dad, his son, does not seem inclined to do so and would rather sell it when his dad passes away. Mayram is also cricket mad and her grandfather has always encouraged this as it teaches leadership and being able to mix with others. Zahra is a good student and person whereas Mayram tends to push boundaries. Eventually Mayram pushes too far and her grandfather decided she needed to move away and she is sent to a boarding school. Zahra always wanted to leave Pakistan but Mayram was devastated as she intended to stay. The book goes into the political world, mentioning General Zia’s death and the celebrations with Bhutto being elected. Eventually the book moves on to London in 2019 when we find out what has happened to Zahra and Mayram and what is happening in their world. Zahra is head of a Civil Liberties group and Mayram is a tech guru after working as a venture capitalist. Their lives intertwine but I did feel that as they got older they may not have continued as friends as they were so diverse in their lives and theories. I found the book got more difficult to read but I did continue but became unsure of the characters who I liked as teenagers. The book seemed to me to bring into it any political happening over the last three years – why – all in one book

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the author Kamila Shamsie.
Shamsie writes very well, painting a vivid picture of both her settings and her characters. I enjoyed this book and was engaged from the start but was slightly disappointed by the ending. The tension in the story felt like it was building up to something much larger so the denouement fell slightly flat. 3 stars.

This was a very powerful book about two young girls growing up in Pakistan during the 1980’s, with the second half following their adult lives in London. Zahra and Maryam have always been best friends, but their lives are changed one night when they fully realise what it is to be a woman and have to suffer Girl Fear.

This book is extremely well written, and I really loved the character of Maryam who refuses to let her gender hold her back and is fiercely loyal to her best friend. It was interesting to see how she also understood her friend in ways that her friend couldn’t admit about herself. It’s a love story of true friendship that sees the best and the worst in the other person, and yet still stays true and firm to them.

For anyone that loves a bit of literary fiction and a story of friendship then I’d highly recommend this one. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with e-access via Netgalley and the book was published this week.

Like Madeline Miller says it's a book about profound friendship. And I loved how the author analysed the friendship and what it takes to destroy a friendship.

As always superlative storytelling and writing from Kamila Shamsie. Her writing is both elevated and accessible dealing with contemporary topics with such elegance and compassion. This book is no different to all of her others. Highly recommend.

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie is a fascinating story of two girls who grow up in Pakistan at the end of the dictatorship but go on to live and work in London. They remain friends meeting as regularly as they can in spite of their busy lives.

When an old acquaintance from Pakistan turns up in London, things become a little bit complicated in relation to an incident that occurred when they were much younger.

I was totally absorbed by this story; the narrative set in Pakistan was intriguing but became even more so as Maryam and Zahra established successful careers in London.

Shamsie addresses a number of themes in this story provoking a reaction in the reader whilst maintaining an entertaining narrative.

I know Kamila Shamsie can do better than this. I found the novel really quite dull and although I managed to finish it, I found myself skipping chunks towards the end just to get it over with in order to write this review. I remained unengaged throughout and couldn’t relate to the two protagonists who although quite interesting when young, became less and less so when they reached adulthood. It’s the story of two girls in Karachi in the 1980s who become best friends – for life. At a party they make a rash decision that leads to un unpleasant and frightening incident – although nothing really bad actually happens, so it’s not clear why they are so traumatised by it or why this colours their relationship so much into the future. We next meet them in London in 2019 where they both have successful and influential careers. Insisting they are still “best friends” they seem to now have a somewhat fractious relationship, and it wasn’t clear to me why they continue to see each other. That night they shared in Karachi echoes down the years in unexpected ways, but it all felt very contrived. The first half of the book reads like a YA novel, whilst the second reads like a bad soap opera. There are some interesting themes hidden amongst the bad dialogue, stereotypical characters, and meandering plotline – identity, immigration, family, careers, politics and so on – but these seem to be secondary issues to the women’s self-absorption.

I really enjoyed this novel and raced through it in two days. Starting with some superficially similar themes to Shamsie’s previous (wonderful) novel, I absolutely loved where this story took its two central characters over the course of their long friendship and one defining event in their youth. Nuanced and unpredictable, I couldn’t wait to get to the end but was very sorry to leave these characters when I did. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book will likely do very well but I didn't really click with it.. Unable to relate to the two protagonists the book was very slow going. Another book that I feel might work better as a TV drama

I was sent a copy of Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie to read and review by NetGalley. I was keen to read this novel after seeing the attestations by other authors, unfortunately I don’t hold the same view that they did! While the writing itself was good as was the premise of the story, I couldn’t relate to either of the women, their situation or even their relationship! I have a best friend of 50 years and I have to say that my experience bears no resemblance to theirs, even allowing for the many differences of class, location, upbringing etc. I can’t say that I particularly liked either of the protagonists, which obviously didn’t help matters, and their connection always seemed a little detached. I am sure that I will be in the minority in my views regarding this book so don’t let me totally put you off reading it, I just won’t be recommending it personally!

I adored Home fire and was delighted to see this book on NetGalley Uk and was drawn to read it immediately I had downloaded it which given the length of my to be read like says a lot about my admiration for this author
I was immediately drawn to the characters and wanted to know more about their stories .The initial scenes are set in 80s Pakistan but the experience of these young girls was more similar than different to my own Uk school days .This worldwide similarity was very marked and made it very easy to empathise with the characters .The differences too were interesting and the setting around the time of Benazir Burp’s election was significant contrasting the young girl characters desire for freedom in life from their parents with the political unrest at the time together with the increased freedom of women in a patriarchal society.
The characters are real and the dual settings of upper class Pakistan and London helped move the story along in a satisfying way
I love the authors writing style ,concentrating initially on
The lives of young women particularly can result in some authors limiting their readership to young adult readers ,this author however avoids this trap and the book is clearly for an adult intelligent readership .
The section when the young women are subjected to a single evening of frightening discomfort at the hands of 2 significantly older more worldly wise men is tense and clearly influenced their behaviour throughout their lives sometimes in unexpected ways
I would recommend the book for readers wanting something less frothy than chick lit ,the book would appeal particularly to independent educated readership there is a depth to this authors writing that has left me with the feeling that this author shows a deep understanding of some of the darker sides of her characters .
I read an copy on NetGalley Uk the book was published by Bloomsbury Uk in September 2022

The opening few chapters were quite hard to get into and then unfortunately I never developed any real investment in the characters. The thread of lifelong friends and how different experiences in their lives affect each one was interesting but overall I can only give the book three stars.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. /Bloomsbury Circus (UK) for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Best of Friends’ by Kamila Shamsie.

This is Shamsie’s eighth work of literary fiction following her winning the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction with ‘Home Fire’.

Since reading ‘Burnt Shadows’ in 2010, I have enjoyed a number of Kamila Shamsie’s novels. Her latest is a powerful examination of friendship and identity.

Karachi, 1988 despite their different backgrounds fourteen-year-old Maryam and Zahra have always been best friends. Maryam takes for granted that she will remain in Pakistan and run her family’s business; while Zahra hopes to study abroad.

With the end of the military dictatorship and the election of Benazir Bhutto, the future looks bright. Yet when the girls attend a party celebrating the return of democracy they make a decision that brings their childhoods abruptly to an end. The consequences will shape their futures in ways they cannot imagine.

The novel then moves to London in 2019 where
Zahra and Maryam remain best friends though they live very different lives. Then some ghosts from their shared past re-enter their world, severely testing their bond.

As with Kamila Shamsie’s other fiction, ‘Best of Friends’ was a beautifully written, character led novel. Alongside an examination of a long friendship, aspects of modern British politics are also explored.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Very Good book, enjoyed it, although I felt it was slow at times for my taste it did keep me wondering and wanting to have more, I would certainly recommend this to anyone of my friends.
It is a thought-provoking novel that examines the choices we make and the impact it has from the past to the present.
The author is keen to raise awareness of certain issues too which will make you think. Interesting Novel.