KARACHI: British-Pak­istani author Kamila Shamsie has been awarded UK’s prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018 for her seventh novel Home Fire, reported The Guardian.

Home Fire follows the story of Aneeka, a young Londoner who falls in love with the son of a powerful British Muslim politician, which she hopes to use in order to save her missing brother who is drawn towards religious extremism.

When announcing the winner of the award in a ceremony on Wednesday, journalist and chair of judges Sarah Sands said the panel “chose the book which we felt spoke for our times”. Home Fire is about identity, conflicting loyalties, love and politics, she added, recommending the “remarkable book”.

“Ms Shamsie is funny and exact about the Muslim experience, what it means to be challenged on your identity, what it means choosing between public and private … Her nuance, her sympathies, really make you challenge your own lazy thinking on all this,” said Ms Sands.

“To humanise a political story in that way really does show what literature can do, that it can tackle a hard subject that otherwise would never have that sense of layered sympathy and understanding. It really advanced our understanding of the whole issue of identity.”

The winning author thanked her well-wishers on Twitter and wrote: “So this was very lovely. Thanks for all the tweets, which I’m still scrolling through. Of course writers should learn to write things down — not doing that means you forget to thank crucial people — eg everyone at @BloomsburyBooks and @AMHeathLtd (Thank you).”

The Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to what judges consider the best novel of the year written in English by a female author. The winning author receives £30,000 in prize money and a Bessie — a limited edition bronze figurine.

Ms Shamsie has been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize twice before.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2018