LONDON – Pakistani origin British author, Kamila Shamsie, shone on the international stage at the UK’s recent prominent literary award.
The Karachi-born writer won the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction, earlier known as the Baileys Prize and Orange Prize, for her seventh novel, Home Fire at a ceremony in central London hosted by Author Kate Mosse, the founder of the prize.
According to Penguin Random House publishers, the novel, a reworking of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, contains “the suspenseful and heartbreaking story of an immigrant family driven to pit love against loyalty, with devastating consequences”.
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The other shortlisted books included The Idiot by Elif Batuman, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar, Sight by Jessie Greengrass, When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy and Sing, Unburied, Sing bu Jesmyn Ward.
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The winning author received £30,000 in prize money and a Bessie – a limited edition bronze figurine.
According to BBC, Sarah Sands, chair of judges, said the panel had chosen “the book which we felt spoke for our times”.
She said: “Home Fire is about identity, conflicting loyalties, love and politics. And it sustains mastery of its themes and its form. It is a remarkable book which we passionately recommend.”
On the achievement, the author received massive felicitations on social media.
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