Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie is a historical novel that follows two families in the aftermath of World War II. It opens with a man in a prison cell wondering how his life came to this. The story then shifts to Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 where Konrad and Hiroko meet. Hiroko later meets and falls in love with Sajjad in Delhi. They elope to Istanbul but are barred from returning to India after the partition of Pakistan. The story then jumps to 1982, following their son Raza and the political conflicts that ensue after he befriends a mujahid fighter.
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie is a historical novel that follows two families in the aftermath of World War II. It opens with a man in a prison cell wondering how his life came to this. The story then shifts to Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 where Konrad and Hiroko meet. Hiroko later meets and falls in love with Sajjad in Delhi. They elope to Istanbul but are barred from returning to India after the partition of Pakistan. The story then jumps to 1982, following their son Raza and the political conflicts that ensue after he befriends a mujahid fighter.
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie is a historical novel that follows two families in the aftermath of World War II. It opens with a man in a prison cell wondering how his life came to this. The story then shifts to Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 where Konrad and Hiroko meet. Hiroko later meets and falls in love with Sajjad in Delhi. They elope to Istanbul but are barred from returning to India after the partition of Pakistan. The story then jumps to 1982, following their son Raza and the political conflicts that ensue after he befriends a mujahid fighter.
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie is a historical novel that follows two families in the aftermath of World War II. It opens with a man in a prison cell wondering how his life came to this. The story then shifts to Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 where Konrad and Hiroko meet. Hiroko later meets and falls in love with Sajjad in Delhi. They elope to Istanbul but are barred from returning to India after the partition of Pakistan. The story then jumps to 1982, following their son Raza and the political conflicts that ensue after he befriends a mujahid fighter.
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 2
Burnt Shadows by kamila Shamsie
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie Summary | Burnt Shadows by Kamila
Shamsie Themes (Urdu) (Hindi) Burnt Shadows (2009), a novel by Kamila Shamsie, is an epic historical novel that explores the intertwined fates of two families in the post-World War II world. The book opens with a brief prologue depicting a man being stripped and shackled in a prison cell, wondering how his life has come to this point. The story then shifts to Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945. Konrad and Hiroko Konrad Dead Hiroko moved to Delhi Jacob is not Happy Ilse, moved by Hiroko’s story and obvious distress, insists the young woman be allowed to stay with them. Hiroko is introduced to Jacob’s assistant, Sajjad, a Muslim man. Sajjad teaches Urdu both are in love Sajjad informs Hiroko that his family is very strictly religious and will never allow the marriage; in fact, his family expects to arrange a traditional marriage for him. He and Hiroko leave Delhi, eloping to Istanbul to be married. When they attempt to return, however, the partition of India to form Pakistan has occurred; they are barred from returning to Delhi and forced to settle in Karachi. The story jumps to 1982. After thirty-five years of marriage, the couple has a young son, Raza. His friends pass easily and move on with their lives while Raza is forced to wait for the next opportunity to take the test. Fish market, a man named Abdullah begins a conversation with Raza, assuming because of his mixed ethnicity that he is a fellow Afghani. The two become friends, and Abdullah begins talking to Raza of the mujahideen and of going to a remote training camp to learn how to fight the Soviets, who are invading Afghanistan. Harry Burton, the son of Ilse and Jacob, visits Sajjad and Hiroko. Raza agrees to help Abdullah locate and travel to the training camp, thinking he will leave Abdullah there—it will help pass the time until his next exam. Raza's family is connected to Harry Burton, whom they know as an American. Back in Karachi, Sajjad searches the fish market every day for signs of Raza, who has disappeared. His connection to Burton and his constant questions mark him as suspicious, and he is eventually killed by one of the paranoid mujahideen. Eventually, they allow Raza to return home. Harry is assassinated. Raza is under suspicion In New York, Kim persuades Hiroko to let her bring Abdullah across the border. Raza travels to Montreal, meeting Abdullah at a restaurant. Harboring suspicions about Abdullah’s politics, Kim contacts the police, who raid the restaurant and mistakenly arrest Raza instead of Abdullah. Back in New York, Hiroko is furious with Kim for her actions. Kim attempts to contact the authorities to right her mistake, but the police tell her that she did the right thing; the government is happy to have the man she identified in custody. Kim’s efforts make no progress. Hiroko goes to look out the window, noting that the world moves on despite what’s just happened, taking no notice.
