'Burnt Shadows' is set in three periods, 1947, 1983, 2001 and in several countries - Japan, Pakistan, Afghaistan and New York in particular, and traces the interconnections between the members of two families against the backdrop of major world events. This an involving and worthwhile read, and the ambition is laudable, but it falls down between too many stools. There seemed to be just too many characters, with little or no attempt to get under the skin of several of them. None of the Burtons convinced: both of the males were ciphers if not cliches, and nothing was made of Ilse's German origins,though the interaction of different nationalities and cultures is a major theme of the book. (I noticed that there were no German nor Japanese names amongst the individuals the author consulted). No particular insights seemed to be given into the major historical events that were encountered. The style seemed rather undistinguished, aspiring to 'fine writing' and imagery at times but often giving us clunky, unrhythmic, and poorly punctuated sentences. The evocation of different countries or cities was patchy, unsurprisingly better at Pakistan than elsewhere. However, Shamsie is an original devisor and manipulator of plots. The complex narrative moves along very efficiently - unlike some reviewers, I was especially gripped by the thriller-like final section and its surprising, if improbable, denoument. And there were a number of memorable images or epigrammatic remarks.
So, worth reading, but not superb, especially when compared with other writers on comparable territory - eg Nadeem Aslan, 'The Wasted Vigil'.
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