The morning of August 9, 1945 breaks dreary and unspectacular in the city of Nagasaki. Nonetheless, twenty-one year-old Hiroko Tanaka is elated: sh...
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reviews
Feb 19, 2010
Barbara
rated it: 
"Burnt Shadows" was a gift to me from a friend who valued this book highly. It was a gift for me because it has given me much food for thought. At the outset, I was determined to enjoy this book to share the pleasure with my friend, but as I progressed I could observe why she ranked it so highly.
I will not attempt a summary here. One can easily find that elsewhere. The scope of this novel is huge. It spans about 60 years, from the A- Bomb in Nagasaki, to the partitioning o More...
I will not attempt a summary here. One can easily find that elsewhere. The scope of this novel is huge. It spans about 60 years, from the A- Bomb in Nagasaki, to the partitioning o More...
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May 19, 2010
Rose
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A great read! I highly recommend it. You will feel challenged and enlightened, possibly provoked, and undoubtedly enriched.
Beautiful lyrical prose. This book was an Orange Prize finalist.
Beautiful lyrical prose. This book was an Orange Prize finalist.
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Aug 09, 2010
Elizabeth
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A twisting yarn of a book that struck me as something written fresh on the heels of 9-11. There were certain elements of the plot that I thought were probably even more impactful for readers who read this book a few years after that horrific event.
Beginning in Nagasaki, Japan, just before the second nuclear bomb drops, the story ventures to India, Turkey, Pakistan, and New York as it follows two families, one of German-English and another Japanese-Pakistani extraction. Lives mirror More...
Beginning in Nagasaki, Japan, just before the second nuclear bomb drops, the story ventures to India, Turkey, Pakistan, and New York as it follows two families, one of German-English and another Japanese-Pakistani extraction. Lives mirror More...
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Jan 09, 2011
This is another book I wanted to like more than I did. Shamsie writes about two transnational families over the course of 55 years, following them from Japan and India, to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the U.S. These are people who have left homes behind but who also adapt quickly to their new surroundings (they're almost all polyglots). They are all capable people, trying to live their own lives, but also finding themselves and their dreams casualties of the politics and violence of the world. I l
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Jul 10, 2010
Chrissie
rated it: 
NO SPOILERS
I finished this last night. Three or four stars? Do I REALLY like it or do I like it. While I was reading it, I REALLY liked it, but with time it is the story that will remain not all the wonderful lines that are so intriguing. I think it will turn into an "I liked it" book. You will thoroughly enjoy the time spent with this book if you enjoyed the quotes below. Don't think three stars means, aacch choose something else. I loved it b/c it was thought provoking. T More...
I finished this last night. Three or four stars? Do I REALLY like it or do I like it. While I was reading it, I REALLY liked it, but with time it is the story that will remain not all the wonderful lines that are so intriguing. I think it will turn into an "I liked it" book. You will thoroughly enjoy the time spent with this book if you enjoyed the quotes below. Don't think three stars means, aacch choose something else. I loved it b/c it was thought provoking. T More...
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Jan 25, 2012
Vivienne
rated it:
What an incredible and ambitious novel! Focusing on a few people brought together by love and chance, it tells an epic story weaving together these personal stories with a few key events of the latter half of the 20thC and just into the 21st.
It begins with the bombing of Nagasaki and then moves onto the withdrawal of the British from India and the Partition, then to the Afghan conflict of the 1980s and finally to the aftermath of 9/11.
It is beautifully written and t More...
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Aug 03, 2011
I read so much, and so quickly, that it takes a rare exception of a book to send me searching for post-it notes and a pen to write down quotes from the writing. I found the writing in this book so compelling, that I stopped reading everything else for two whole days and just immersed myself in the story of a woman who finds herself in the midst of several acts of war in the lifetime. From Nagasaki where she is scared mentally and physically, to Delhi where she runs with her new husband from th
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Feb 07, 2012
Ben
rated it:
Nominated for the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction, Kamila Shamsie’s fifth novel, Burnt Shadows, explores the way in which histories shape one another, and of how people, caught up in events beyond their control, manage to find humanity even in the darkest of days.
It reveals its epic scope quickly, with a short prologue in Guantanamo Bay, as a man in shackles wonders “How did it come to this?” Instead of showing us this Islamisation of this youth, we travel backward, to Nagasaki, on the d More...
It reveals its epic scope quickly, with a short prologue in Guantanamo Bay, as a man in shackles wonders “How did it come to this?” Instead of showing us this Islamisation of this youth, we travel backward, to Nagasaki, on the d More...
Sep 10, 2011
Blake
rated it:
I think it's important to note that the main characters in Kamila Shamsie’s brilliant novel, Burnt Shadows, are Japanese, German and Pakistani Muslims. This is a book that deals with the political tensions between different nations, nationalities and ethnic groups, and within that context Shamsie succeeds in putting a human face on the US's three bitterest enemies of the past sixty years. It is an epic novel that spans all of those years - covering three generations and as many continents. And,
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Aug 24, 2011
Cathy
rated it:
Marvelously powerful book about the complexities and interrelations of cultures and nations. It begins with the bombing of Nagasaki and those horrors, with the prejudice against the German Konrad and his charming romance with the wise Hiroko. Hiroko eventually moves on to India and the author delves into the complexities of the British Empire then as it is ending and Pakistan is forming. Hiroko feels the sadness of the separation and ends of living in Pakistan, with her son having the traumas
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Jul 24, 2011
Sana
rated it:
The journey from Hiroko Tanaka to an almost Hiroko Konrad and finally, Hiroko Ashraf was intensely poetic and linked to the many absurdities of life. Everything written in the book can be reflected in one simple phrase, "The speed necessary to replace loss." More than a search for identity, Burnt Shadows is a tale about learning the secret about loss. There is no overcoming, just a bitter fading of it and an ever pronounceable taste that can surface anytime.
For Raza Konrad As More...
For Raza Konrad As More...
Jul 13, 2011
C
rated it:
The beginning with the love story in Japan (and the writing style a bit) reminded me of David Mitchell's 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' and sure enough, Mitchell is mentioned in the acknowledgements. Interesting. One section also reminded me of 'A Passage to India', though I have never read it, and a few pages later it is actually mentioned in this one. It also reminded me of The Kite Runner. As I knew there were so many tragedies as a centerpiece, I thought maybe Shamsie was trying to
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Jun 19, 2011
Amie
rated it:
Just as it found its way to me, when I read Burnt Shadows I immediately bought another copy and shipped it to one of my best friend's back home. This book is a gift and a companion that is hard to let go. She's been added to my list of 'must read again and again in my lifetime.'
Complicated, generation-spanning, and with characters that you fall in love with for very different reasons, this book touches upon prejudice and fear in the wake of historical upheavals (Nagasaki and Sep 11) an More...
Complicated, generation-spanning, and with characters that you fall in love with for very different reasons, this book touches upon prejudice and fear in the wake of historical upheavals (Nagasaki and Sep 11) an More...
Oct 15, 2010
2009 Orange Shortlist - from Belletrista: Kamila Shamsie's In the City by the Sea, Kartography, and Burnt Shadows display an author who has progressed from writing quiet family tales to sweeping epic novels. Underlying this change is the constant importance of place, and the beauty and pain of human relationships. Burnt Shadows is an ambitious novel, one that made me reflect upon the very nature of our world. It convinced me to delve deeper into Shamsie's works, and there I found an author who h
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Apr 29, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
This book was really difficult for me to finish because I knew how it would end.
Much like The House of Sand and Fog, this is a novel that concentrates on the difficulties of our plural, interconnected world. Cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and ideological differences seperate us from our neighbors, from the people across the world, from our enemy. But are we really so different? Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of our family, of our past, and of our nation?
The r More...
Much like The House of Sand and Fog, this is a novel that concentrates on the difficulties of our plural, interconnected world. Cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and ideological differences seperate us from our neighbors, from the people across the world, from our enemy. But are we really so different? Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of our family, of our past, and of our nation?
The r More...
Sep 28, 2009
Ruby
rated it:
I read so much, and so quickly, that it takes a rare exception of a book to send me searching for post-it notes and a pen to write down quotes from the writing. I found the writing in this book so compelling, that I stopped reading everything else for two whole days and just immersed myself in the story of a woman who finds herself in the midst of several acts of war in the lifetime. From Nagasaki where she is scared mentally and physically, to Delhi where she runs with her new husband from th
More...
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Jul 20, 2009
Lanew-yorkaise
rated it:
From http://lanew-yorkaise.com/
Maybe it’s because I spent a good part of my college years studying trauma and how people experience and record it; maybe because World War II and its fallout—both figurative and literal—is a topic I find myself drawn to again and again (my thesis was based on an oral history project I conducted that recorded the stories of college students-turned-soldiers in the ‘40s.) Maybe it’s because the writing is so damn lush, the characters so real. Whatever th More...
Maybe it’s because I spent a good part of my college years studying trauma and how people experience and record it; maybe because World War II and its fallout—both figurative and literal—is a topic I find myself drawn to again and again (my thesis was based on an oral history project I conducted that recorded the stories of college students-turned-soldiers in the ‘40s.) Maybe it’s because the writing is so damn lush, the characters so real. Whatever th More...
Jun 22, 2009
Heather
rated it:
Hiroko Tanaka's life has been irrevocably marred by the American bombing of Nagasaki in the summer of 1945. Not only did she lose her father, village, and way of life, but also the young German artist Konrad, with whom she was beginning a relationship. After the kimono she was wearing in the blast becomes fused with her skin, she bears scars shaped like birds across her back. It is with these painful scars and memories that she leaves Japan, unable to find her place in society after the war. Hir
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Jul 25, 2011
Jen
rated it:
This novel begins in Nagasaki where Hiroko is in love with a German, Conrad. They have just declared their love for each other when the atomic bomb is dropped, killing Conrad and burning Hiroko’s back with the pattern of her kimono. Eventually, Hiroko decides to leave Japan to find Conrad’s sister, Ilsa, who is married and living in Delhi. There she falls in love with a young Muslim and after their marriage, when they are refused re-entry to India because of partition, they settle in Pakistan,
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Jan 24, 2009
Alyson
rated it:
Requested this ARC from the publisher because Rushdie reviewed it.
xx
Hiroko Tanaka is a wonderful character, and this is a brilliant work, highly appropriate to finish reading on the day Obama announced the closing of "Gitmo." To explain why would give away the entire story (difficult in an "epic" work, but possible with this one), so I'll just say this is a lovely work, diligently researched, brilliantly written and researched, and one that will ultimately
xx
Hiroko Tanaka is a wonderful character, and this is a brilliant work, highly appropriate to finish reading on the day Obama announced the closing of "Gitmo." To explain why would give away the entire story (difficult in an "epic" work, but possible with this one), so I'll just say this is a lovely work, diligently researched, brilliantly written and researched, and one that will ultimately
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 30, 2009
Annie
rated it:
This book, from the Orange Prize shortlist, has had terribly mixed reviews. How can a book that tries to tie together the bombing of Nagasaki, the partition of India, the Afghan conflict and 9/11 possibly work? Well, it does - I absolutely loved it. Hiroko is a wonderful character - she lives on the page in a way a character hasn't for me in ages, and she's the anchor that holds this enormous story together. The writing is quite beautiful - some of the imagery will really stay with me, but it
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 20, 2011
Karen
rated it:
India is just one of the countries in the background. Amazing how the author could take periods of crisis for so many nations and make you believe that one person experienced them all. Hiroko, marked by the bombing of Nagasaki, lives in New Delhi, Istanbul, Karachi (Pakistan), and New York City - at times of great fear and tragedy in each.
My credulity was tested at times, especially concerning her good friendship with the woman who accused Sajjad, the man who became her husband, of More...
My credulity was tested at times, especially concerning her good friendship with the woman who accused Sajjad, the man who became her husband, of More...
Feb 11, 2011
Emily
rated it:
Really more of a 4.5 rating. I'm going to wait and see on how much the story sticks with me.
This is a wonderful, intelligent, well-plotted, engaging story. I was going to just read a little bit last night, but couldn't put it down until I finished. Loved it. Going to buy it for friends and family.
Bottom line, read it. Maybe pair it with _Green-Eyed Thieves_, _On Beauty_, _Hiroshima Mon Amour_, or _The Emperor's Children_. Those were the titles I kept thinking of as I read More...
This is a wonderful, intelligent, well-plotted, engaging story. I was going to just read a little bit last night, but couldn't put it down until I finished. Loved it. Going to buy it for friends and family.
Bottom line, read it. Maybe pair it with _Green-Eyed Thieves_, _On Beauty_, _Hiroshima Mon Amour_, or _The Emperor's Children_. Those were the titles I kept thinking of as I read More...
Jul 18, 2010
Ali
rated it:
Burnt Shadows is a hugely ambitious novel, with a wide canvas and tackling some mighty themes. Kamila Shamsie's writing is so good though that it all works well. From the opening first chapter I was captivated by the characters and their worlds. We see Nagasaki in the aftermath of the atomic bomb in 1945, and where the book gets it title - an image I'll not get rid of for some time. From there we move to India during Partition and later Pakistan as Hiroko and Sajjad make a new life for themse
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May 31, 2009
Holly
rated it:
I am absolutely loving this book! Favorite quotes so far:
(On debates regarding the formation of Pakistan) And so it went on and on, and in each group Sajjad found those who made complete sense and in each group also those whose opinions made him want to scatter seeds over the speakers so the pigeons would swoop down and stop their words with a tumult of feathers.
(On the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki) ...he knew by her voice that he was going to hear s More...
(On debates regarding the formation of Pakistan) And so it went on and on, and in each group Sajjad found those who made complete sense and in each group also those whose opinions made him want to scatter seeds over the speakers so the pigeons would swoop down and stop their words with a tumult of feathers.
(On the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki) ...he knew by her voice that he was going to hear s More...
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Jun 07, 2009
Diane
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Burnt Shadows: A Novel by Kamila Shamsie is a 2009 Orange prize contender.
HirokoTanaka is a unforgettable woman who overcame so many tragedies in this story. Beginning on August 9th, in 1945 when she watches the sun come through the clouds, but then suddenly the world goes white. The atomic bomb has been dropped on Japan killing the man Hiroko intended to marry. As this horrendous event is happening Hiroko’s life is spare, but the scars of the event will remain forever. The heat melt More...
HirokoTanaka is a unforgettable woman who overcame so many tragedies in this story. Beginning on August 9th, in 1945 when she watches the sun come through the clouds, but then suddenly the world goes white. The atomic bomb has been dropped on Japan killing the man Hiroko intended to marry. As this horrendous event is happening Hiroko’s life is spare, but the scars of the event will remain forever. The heat melt More...
Sep 22, 2009
Patricia
rated it:
This first part of the novel powerfully evokes Miroko's character, manages to convey some of the horror the bombing of Nagasaki, and powerfully conveys longing for a space in which peoples from varied cultures can mingle. The image of Konrad's broken bird-books hanging from their tree was memorably and poignant.
I will reread this book because of these powerful images but also to understand why I struggled with the last part.
The tragic failures that Shamsie's characters co More...
I will reread this book because of these powerful images but also to understand why I struggled with the last part.
The tragic failures that Shamsie's characters co More...
Feb 23, 2011
Bea
rated it:
Burnt Shadows is the remarkable journey of one Nagasaki woman (Hiroko) who was there when the nuclear bomb fell. The author takes her through India and Pakistan to New York City geographically, but more crucial were the relationships she formed and the events that impacted those relationships.
She arrived in India when it was still a British-rule country, married an Indian man (Sajjid), and ended up in Pakistan unable to return to India because of Partition which came upon Bristish More...
She arrived in India when it was still a British-rule country, married an Indian man (Sajjid), and ended up in Pakistan unable to return to India because of Partition which came upon Bristish More...
Feb 08, 2011
Brian
rated it:
This is the first novel I've read cover-to-cover in a very long time. It cost me sleep! It starts in Nagasaki, the day of the atomic bombing, continues in the twilight of British occupation of India and the subsequent partitionings of India and Pakistan, and goes into quite a lot of detail about Afghanistan, then continues on for several more decades. Shamsie has a tremendous eye for physical and interior emotional detail, and you can tell she also has written "journalism" -- the polit
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Oct 02, 2009
Tara
rated it: 
This book is barely even worth my time in writing a review so I am going to keep it short and to the point. It stinks. It is not really a story about war or even really about The Japanese girl Hiroko, as the summary above will have you think. The bomb is over and done in the first chapter. The characters introduced into the story after the bomb are pointless, unlikeable, and weird people. Namely a married couple, Elizabeth and James, that are apparently having marital troubles and the reason is
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