This was a surprise to me - very refreshing to read. I was engrossed by the characters and the plotline, which was never predictable and didn't resort to tropes. Recommend!! ( )

I am not really sure what happens in this book. Maryam and Zahra are friends living in Karachi at that important age of 14 with their friendship played out against a political backdrop of General Zia dying and Benazair coming into power. Apart from one frightening night where they disobey their parents and get into someone's car that they do not know, nothing happens. Their growing into women and the realisation of the power they can hold over men is explored and described well as is their unbreakable friendship.

Class is depicted well. Both girls belong to a moneyed class in Karachi, Maryam more so and this means they attend a school who believes their reputation must be upheld at all times. There are parts of the city the girls are not allowed to visit and some that they didn't even know where there. And then there are Hammad and Jimmy who provide the danger and who do not come from the moneyed group. The girls lives are full of videos, music, clothes and for Maryam, servants who must be ordered around.

We then meet them 20 years later in London where they now live, Maryam with her family and parents and Zahra and her parents. They are still friends, just now a little older and they like to walk. Hammad turns up again in a sort of symmetry to the first half of the story but it really doesn't take the book anywhere.

There are important themes in the book, some of which work well but the second half left me unmoved. ( )

Two fourteen year old girls in Karachi, Pakistan in the summer of 1988 are the very best of friends, although they are from slightly different social backgrounds. Zahara’s father is a journalist and popular sports show anchor; Maryam is the daughter of a very wealthy manufacturing family.

Nevertheless they share everything – until one night, longing for freedom not to be found in their country, they attend a party and get into a car with two boys. One is a school mate crushing on Maryam. The other, the driver, is older, and out to terrorize the rich girls. The two girls hide what truly happened that night getting into the car and which of the two girls was truly to blame.

Their friendship continues – and we jump to London 2019. Both girls are successful, leading very different lives and with very differently focused careers – Zahara the CEO of an international justice organization and Maryam the head of a business empire and learning how it can be used politically to further her financial agenda.

But then, like ghosts from the past, the two boys-now-men from the 1988 incident insert themselves into Maryam and Zahara’s lives. The carefully patched over places of the friendship are strained and the girls’ basic characters are revealed.

I thought this was an excellent book. Yes, it was about relationships and character driven, but it also had suspense and drama. The story is played out in front of Pakistan’s political situation with threats by General Zia-ul-Haq against Zahara's father to the election and subsequent assassination of Benazir Bhutta. The societal expectations of these Islamic girls, even though they were from the most liberal strata were clear and concise. The story could not have existed outside these constraints and historical events. ( )

I dived into this novel with great anticipation after reading Kamila Shamsie's earlier novel Home Fire which was a modern retelling of Antigone dealing in power, terrorism, fire and ice; a novel which left me breathless with the writer's ability to show me events and actions from a completely different perspective. Best of Friends begins with a wonderful story of teenage girls in Karachi bathed in privilege whilst enduring cultural restrictions.

I got on board for the next part of the story with the same girls as adults enjoying living in London as successful professionals. We see their private lives, their interests and their concerns. Somehow I never really found my seat and I failed to properly connect with the adult characters. I will still look forward to reading other Kamila Shamsie novels as her writing is powerful and brings her settings to life. ( )

I loved Kamila Shamsie’s novel Home Fire, so I was anxious to pick up her latest book. This one is about female friendship.

The first part of the novel is set in 1988 in Karachi, Pakistan. Two 14-year-old girls, Zahra Ali and Maryam Khan, are inseparable. Zahra is the daughter of a cricket journalist who has become a celebrity, whereas Maryam is heiress to her family’s very successful business. A traumatic event results in their being separated. The second part of the novel is set in 2019 in London, England, where both Zahra and Maryam, now in their 40s, reside. Both are high-powered women: Zahra, divorced, is leader of a civil liberties group, and Maryam, happily married and mother to a daughter, is a venture capitalist specializing in tech companies. Their political views are on opposite ends of the British political spectrum because Maryam supports the conservative government while Zahra is opposed to so many of its policies. Nonetheless, they maintain their friendship built on a common past until the arrival of two men from the past threatens their bond.

In many ways, the two are polar opposites. Zahra comes from a more humble background with less financial stability so she focuses on her studies to earn a place in a British university. She is sensitive, bookish, and introspective. Maryam, guaranteed to have a position in her family’s business, is spoiled and academically indifferent and has a rebellious streak. Their different backgrounds and upbringings shape their reactions to the singular event which occurs to them as teenagers.

The first part of the book which focuses on the adolescent girls is by far the most interesting. Their depiction as teenagers is very realistic as they become aware of their bodies and their sexuality as well as their vulnerability as women. They experience what Maryam calls girlfear. The incident which they experience together and proves to be life-changing is fraught with danger. The suspense in this section keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

In contrast, the second part is dull and plodding. Despite the differences between the two, there is a paucity of conflict and tension to maintain reader interest. The plot moves slowly until a confrontation at the end. I found it difficult to believe that the two didn’t have this face-off sooner. Their values and interests diverge so much that a parting of ways seems inevitable. When the two are still teenagers, Maryam says, “’We go together as far as we can’” and Zahra thinks, “A drift had begun, which would only grow as the years went on. Deep down they both knew that on one had the kind of friendship when they were forty that the two of them had at fourteen.” In essence, the second part of the novel shows this drifting apart, but it happens at a glacial pace.

Actually, I had difficulty believing that the incident when they are 14 casts such a long shadow over their adult lives and friendship. Zahra speaks of the “’shame and fear” they carried from childhood, and Maryam says the event affected the trajectory of her life. Both contentions seem an exaggeration since neither lives with paralyzing fear and both are wildly successful. The women respond differently when two men resurface to remind them of that past event, and their responses illustrate their personalities and upbringing. The book offers no new insights into long-standing friendships; I would argue that it shows more about how nature and nurture influence how people react to a traumatic event.

Readers should be warned that there is an ambiguous ending which some may not find satisfying. Personally, I found the entire book unsatisfying. It begins with promise but the second part is much less compelling.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )