"Always this friendship, always its light."
2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars. So many mixed feelings about this book, meandering more towards the disappointing side. Best of Friends was like reading two completely different books.
The first part of the book was set in Karachi in August 1988. Kamila Shamsie truly captured the vibrancy and day to day life of the city by the sea. Anyone familiar with Pakistan's political history in that specific month and year would know what was to come.
Best friends Zahra and Maryam are fourteen years old and navigating through adolescence together. I found this part of the book was interesting, engaging and it felt like a YA read.
The second part of the book takes place three decades later in 2019 and this is where I felt the book became a complete let down. Shamsie's writing style changed and the characters became unrelatable and superficial. Due to this, it was difficult to focus on what was going on and I completely lost all interest in the characters.

I absolutely adored Home Fire which won the 2019 Women's Prize so I was excited to be approved to read this early. It definitely feels like Kamila Shamsie's writing and style, but for me it didn't live up to Home Fire. It's always difficult when a writer has written something so good, as you're inevitably going to be disappointed in some way.

Still, this was far from bad book! It centres on best friends Zahra and Maryam, born and brought up in Karachi. They are opposites in so many ways it's quite funny actually - Maryam is from a highly privileged background and doesn't have to think about her social standing; Zahra's family is in potential trouble from the dictator government, and her decisions are carefully made to give her the best standing later in life. One fateful night, they act out of character - a moment of teenage rebellion perhaps? - and their lives are completely changed. This section of the book was so well-written; their friendship and the teenage turbulences feel very real. Both girls are flawed in typically adolescent ways, but they also feel like new characters you've never met before.

Thirty years pass, and we meet Zahra and Maryam again, both hugely influential and powerful women in England, still the best of friends. But memories from their Karachi past are unearthed which tests their bond. Can their friendship survive the upheaval, and the long-time-coming honesty that they have avoided?

I did really enjoy this book: the pacing was excellent, Shamsie's writing is superb, and her characters practically spring from the pages they are so alive. It ultimately asks the girls/women to think deeply about 'the difference between propinquinity and friendship,' which is definitely something we question as young people, but as friends don't often stay in contact for this long, the question seldom arises as adults. Are the foundations of their relationship too shallow because of things left unsaid? Are they actually too different?

Thought-provoking and moving (with excellent diversity!), this was a great read. It's just a bit unfair that I read Home Fire first!
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I have read and enjoyed Kamila Shamsie’s previous novels so was really looking forward to Best of Friends.

I was not disappointed. As ever Shamsie’s writing is beautiful and engaging and the characters and their friendship developed well through the story.

I would recommend for fans of Shamsie.

As ever with Kamila Shamsie, the setting is exquisitely drawn and the characters rise up from it perfectly.

When the story starts, the preoccupations are of a friendship between two young girls, on the cusp of womanhood, It is the late 80s in Pakistan and the girls attend a prestigious school at which decorum is essential. What interested me most about this was that while this sequence definitely conjured Pakistan of this time, it also showed how universal the dilemma's the girls faced in growing up were. However, when these two heroines end up stepping over the line, the consequences are drastic for one.

Many years later, we meet them in London, where, instead of decorum being of concern, they are on opposite sides of a political divide - and once again facing the questions of how their friendship will navigate the choppy waters they are creating around themselves.

If you are a fan of Ms Shamsie, you will find this is another astute and thought-provoking read.

I adore Kamila Shamsie’s writing. Reading her latest novel, Best of Friends, we go on a journey with Maryam and Zahra from 1980s Karachi to London 30 years on. The usual teenage issues are played out against the political backdrop of General Zia in Pakistan in the 1980s and sets up themes that will dominate their lives culminating in London three decades on. Their friendship is authentic and Shamsie cleverly provides insightful social commentary in relation to her characters. As always, she is prescient and canny and her commentary on immigrants and racism in modern day Britain are spot on. A fantastic read.

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie

Thank you Netgallery UK for the ARC e-book for an unbiased review.

I had loved Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie so was grateful to get the chance to read this.
I was genuinely unsure whether to say this was 3/5 or 4/5 stars for me.
It felt as if the book was strongest in the first half, Karachi 1998. Then it jumped forward to London 2019 (& an epilogue that was Spring 2020). With that 2nd part, it lost some of the magic for me.

Zahra and Maryam were best of friends and as teenagers during the political unrest seen in Karachi in 1998, the events they witnessed and dealt with were strongly portrayed. The prose was so good you felt immersed into all that was going on around them and with them.

London 2019 then all just felt flat for me. I think had that been the start of the book it wouldn't have been so jarring, and why I'm hovering on the rating. I think I'm happy enough to give it 4/5 stars as the 1st part is strong enough and while the 2nd wasn't as great for me, it wasn't something I perhaps would've automatically rated down if it was the initial part of the book.
I'd say if you're a fan of Home Fire as I was, you will enjoy this book and shouldn't discount it. But perhaps temper the expectations that it will reach the same heights. It is good though and I'd happily have this on my shelf to read again sometime. It might be a book that on a 2nd read through I gain more appreciation of it.

A slightly wavering 4/5 stars 🌟

This was a very well written book but not one that I really enjoyed. The first half was quite interesting but I found the second half hard work. It was a bit of a slog to finish it to be honest and I’m not sure why. It just didn’t grab me, and I didn’t particularly like the characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC and sorry I can’t be more positive - it’s only my view!

A beautifully crafted novel about two inseparable friends. The setting was very interesting and I enjoyed reading about a different culture. The first part was the strongest section of the book and it was a fascinating insight into life in Pakistan and significant political events seen through the eyes of young women and their different families.

The seond half was interesting too and it was great to see how the characters developed as they became successfull and influential. It would have been great if it was more of a journey rather than a big jump, bot overall a great story about female friendship and obstacles the time brings along.

This was a clever description of a friendship, however her skill seems to be in portraying character and simple events . I found those scenes gripping but found some of the more staged events and prominent characters far less believsble. "The High table" was not convincing whilst the day at cricket and New years day felt like you were there with her friends
I would read her again but her skill seems to be in portraying reality. Her "baddies" and social events felt like characatures.

Best of Friends is a thought-provoking novel that tells of the friendship between Zahra and Maryam as they grow-up in politically turbulent 1980s Karachi. When an event changes the course of both girls’ lives, the reader follows their lives as grown women in London. Successful in their careers that are influenced by different agendas, they are faced with how to navigate their friendship. Shamsie writes the characters well, giving strength and vulnerability to both protagonists. The structure allows the reader to view and empathise with equal measure. I found the narrative both compelling with a grounding sense of realism that asks the reader to consider how much bonds of friendship really matter when your experiences and agendas counteract.

I loved Kamila Shamsie’s previous novel Home Fires and this new one didn’t disappoint. What is it to be a true friend?

Really enjoyed this book. Set in India over a number of years and time frames it tells the story of two best friends. Both very different and how they struggle with life. Well written and I loved both the two main characters for different reasons. Would recommend.

This was my first book by Kamila Shamsie. I found it well written and in such a style that flowed. The first half of the book, set in Karachi in the 1980s was much more interesting than the second half which was set in London, forty years later. Neither of the two main characters were particularly likeable and I didn’t think that they were particularly well developed. Definitely a book of two halves and despite being an easy read I didn’t really enjoy it. With thanks to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review.

Best of Friends was a relatively easy to read book that I enjoyed from the start, and invites the reader into the world of Zahra and Maryam in Pakistan in the 1980s. Shamsie's writing draws the reader into their lives in an accessible way, and I picked up on each character's motivations quickly without feeling like I was force-fed; it felt much more fluid. The first part of the novel is set when Zahra and Maryam are teenage girls experiencing a taste of adulthood against a backdrop of political unrest, coming to a climax during the events of a party where Zahra and Maryam's decisions effect the rest of their futures. The second part of the novel is set 30 years later when Zahra and Maryam are both living in the UK, and despite the test of time and distance, are still best friends.
What I loved most about the novel is the strongest theme running through the text: that friendship can withstand the test of time and distance, and that a friendship can be the most important relationship in one's life, more than family, more than romantic love. Another aspect of this book that I loved was how fleshed out Zahra and Maryam were as characters. Though their narration styles were very similar and meant I often lost track of which character I was following, as characters they felt very real. Because we are given both characters' perspectives throughout the novel, it's easy to understand where both are coming from, even when they stand on opposite sides of a political or personal issue. This is a book about personal loyalties and values, especially when it comes to relating to other people with upbringings different from our own. I don't think I would reread it, but I'm definitely glad for it to have taken up space on my (digital) bookshelf.

A thought-provoking novel about society, women and ultimately friendship- its up and downs, what we do or don’t say, what we don't need to say and what we should say. The event that follows two women through their lives was a thread cleverly woven throughout this captivating, character driven story.

NO SPOILERS:

This is possibly the shortest review I have ever written as I found this book to be neither good nor bad. I have read and really enjoyed Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fires so was pleased to read Best of Friends for review but I was a little disappointed. The writing style flows effortlessly but the tale itself simply did not grab me and I had no feeling of like nor dislike with any of the characters. For me, it was all indifferent.

However, I know many people will love this book, so please do not be put off with my view.

‘Best of Friends’ by Kamila Shamsie begins in Karachi in 1988, shortly before Benazir Bhutto becomes prime minister of Pakistan. Despite being from different social classes, teenagers Zahra and Maryam are the best of friends and Bhutto’s election gives them hope that their lives can be more than marriage and motherhood. However, finding themselves in a frightening situation one Saturday night when, ‘You could do anything to a girl here and no one would stop you; you could do anything to a girl anywhere and no one would stop you if you had a car with tinted windows and a stereo system that drowned out all screams,’ the girls come face to face with the consequences of stepping away from approved conventions.
Thirty years later both are working in London and are still the best of friends. Whilst Kamila Shamsie uses the politics of now as well as of the past very effectively in her narrative, this aspect of the story never overshadows that of the women’s friendship as they continue to test boundaries and seek justice. That they do so by different means tries their loyalties to the full.
This is a wonderfully sensitive and sympathetic exploration of female friendship over the decades. The author shows us that change, struggle, anger and sorrow may be part of the mix but that, deeper than understanding, the essence of their relationship is a precious thing worth retaining.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Circus UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

‘Best-friendship wasn’t an vast expanse of time any more; it was being there when it mattered.’

This novel is divided into two halves - the first is set in Karachi in 1988 as best friends Maryam and Zahra are fourteen and striving for freedom from their parents, lusting after George Michael and planning their futures. This was the strongest section of the book and it was a fascinating insight into life in Pakistan and significant political events seen through the eyes of two young women and their different families.

The second section skips ahead to 2019 where both Maryam and Zahra are living in London and have both become implausibly successful and influential. As Zahra strives to improve human rights and change government legislation, Maryam’s tech company is prioritising profits and inevitably they end up on opposing sides when someone from their past reappears.

I enjoyed this novel but it didn’t live up to the wonderful Home Fire by the same author. I would have happily accompanied the two protagonists through the nineties and noughties rather than having the big time jump and the last section felt more like a bunch of issues and themes than being character driven and led.

I enjoyed the first half of this novel a lot. The story of two young girls living in Karachi in the 1980s, each with their own ambitions set against the backdrop of Pakistani society. I found some similarities with Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, a book I loved.

The second half was less compelling as the narrative moves forward to 2019 and London. Perhaps because the time and setting are more familiar, but somehow it felt a little flat after the first half. Nonetheless it was worth reading.

As other reviewers have said, this is very much a novel of two halves.

The first describes the teenage friendship of two privileged girls in 1988 Karachi. Shamsie perfectly captures the turbulence of those years on the cusp of adulthood, at a time when the girls' place in society is changing forever. It's an exploration of the complexity of burgeoning sexuality, freedom and all those pressures which contribute to 'girlfear' set against a backdrop of revolutionary political change in Pakistan.

After this, the second part falls a little flat. Thirty years later, and the two friends are now wildly succcessful but both in their own ways haunted by an incident that took place in that summer of 1988. The appearance of the perfect friendship predictably unravels in the landscape of 2019 London.

There are some worthy themes in Best of Friends, but I couldn't help feeling that Shamsie's brushstrokes are a little too broad to really do them justice.