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.

Good read. Great characters, enjoyed the setting, lots of side stories weaved into it and it flowed really well. A good read for a rubbish day. Will make you feel better!

I loved Home Fire by this author and was incredibly excited to read this one but for a number of reasons it did not have the same impact for me as a reader. There is plenty to enjoy in this, Shamsie writes women with great warmth and realistically and I liked both of the main characters , Maryam and Zahra, who despite vastly different backgrounds, are best friends for most of their life. I really enjoyed the parts of the book set in Pakistan and the rich descriptions. and the book started so strongly. However once the timeline in the book switched, my interest waned a little . I enjoyed the exploration of friendship and how events can resonate decades later but I thought something was possibly lacking. Very much a book of two halves with the first half being the strongest for me. I was a little disappointed overall, despite the great writing and characters, the book just lost its spark for me and I had to force myself to read to the end. It lacked the magic that was spun through Home Fire.

The synopsis of this book sounded very interesting and made me want to explore it further. I found the first few chapters, up until the downfall of the dictatorship to be extremely interesting, especially as I was around the same age at that time. The narrative did seem overly long and the writing not very tight though, so much so that as the book went on and I struggled to stay focused. I did get to the end but only by skimming the final third of the book. A great idea but ultimately, not sufficiently engaging for me.

This is an enjoyable read that deals with some hard hitting issues in a compelling way. I found it a bit hard to get into at times but overall I still enjoyed reading it. The book is full of vivid descriptions and rich imagery and this is def a book that everyone should read.

The story of a long lasting friendship from childhood into adulthood. Unfortunately, I did not relate to the characters and found the storyline improbable and childish. Not for me

A novel of female friendship and coming of age the story is initially based in Karachi in 1988 when Maryam and Zarah are 14 and then moving to London in 2019 where the reader discovers how the girls experiences have shaped their lives and how their new found power affects their decisions and revenge and ultimately their friendship itself. I love the development of the two main characters and in particular the description of their childhood in Karachi. A novel dealing with many issues - immigration and politics , friends and family and how the expectation of these shape your life and decisions. I will certainly be reading more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this novel in return for honest review.

I'm torn with this one. I was quite enjoying it, quite engrossed and I kind of stopped for a few hours for my birthday and found it quite difficult to get back into afterwards but I can't say why. I really had to force myself to carry on, yet as I say I'm stumped as to why. It simply didn't sustain me in the end.