A review by andrew61
A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie

4.0

I think this book probably warrants 3.5 stars rather than 4 as there was so much about it that was interesting yet I did not feel totally emotionally drawn to the characters so at the end I was ambivalent about the outcome which perhaps may say more about me than the efforts of the author. The story has at its beginning two threads as World war one begins. Qayyam Gul is an Indian soldier serving on the western front , he is injured and in the story we learn about the appallingly racist way that Indians were treated to the extent that in Brighton when recovering they are treated as prisoners and English nurses are no longer able to treat them in case they morally corrupt the women, Qayyam returns to Peshawar where he re-joins his muslim family and eventually is drawn into the independence movement, this thread is excellent with a fascinating snapshot of India at this time including the non violence strategy. The second thread involves Vivian Spencer a young English woman who is the son her father never had and goes to India to assist her father's Turkish friend on an archaeological dig to find the lost city where Darius had invaded from Persia. On return she commits an act which has long term repercussions for her and another character , she then nurses soldiers at the wars outbreak before her mother persuades her to return to India on an archaeological dig, she is haunted by finding a headband given to an ancient king. In Peshawar she meets Qayyam's younger brother Neejab who helps her with the dig despite his families opposition. We then leap in the latter part of the book to 1930 when Vivian returns to begin a new dig and the story revolves around the events of the Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre when British troops massacre unarmed peaceful demonstrators. I've got to say even as I read this I am thinking what a brilliant book this should have been however I simply found that the characters lacked a depth which drew me in so that when they are in jeopardy I did not feel the emotional pull that turns a really good book into a classic and here I can only really compare it to one of my top five books 'A Fine Balance' where I was repeatedly moved ,shocked and engaged by all the events. Still I would recommend the book for anyone who enjoys stories set in India and for a snapshot of how the colonial soldiers were treated in the first world war and I will definitely read her again.