Kamila Shamsie's 'Best of Friends' novel explores friendship across decades and cultures

Kamila Shamsie's eighth novel, 'Best of Friends,' follows two friends from Karachi to London across three decades. The story begins in 1988 Karachi, where fourteen-year-olds Maryam and Zahra attend an elite school. Maryam comes from a wealthy leather-goods family, while Zahra's father hosts a popular cricket show. Their friendship develops against a backdrop of military dictatorship under General Zia, with Pakistan at a crossroads following Zia's assassination and Benazir Bhutto's rise. A pivotal incident involving two men, including Hammad, creates lasting consequences. The narrative shifts to 2019 London, where the women are in their mid-forties. Zahra leads a civil liberties organization, while Maryam works as a venture capitalist investing in controversial facial-recognition technology. Their friendship persists despite ideological differences, with Maryam married to sculptor Layla and raising a daughter. The novel explores themes of social media, Pakistani and English social mores, and political opportunism, including a subplot involving a Boris Johnson-like prime minister. Published by Bloomsbury Circus, the hardcover retails for £16.99.