I didn't realise when I was reading this that it was a sort of retelling of Antigone. I wasn't familiar with that story either, but it explains the turn the book took at the end, which felt slightly out of step with the more down to earth storytelling that came before it. 

That's not to say I didn't like it, it just wasn't where I was expecting the story to go. It's purely coincidental,  but the same day I finished reading this, Shamima Begum lost her appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. It's nearly 10 years since she left the UK, which goes to show that there's no neat way to wrap up a story like the one in Home Fire. 

This book, I think, raises more questions than it answers. But that's probably the point. All of the characters actions are understandable, even if they're not all "good" choices. It looks at the legacy of decisions and actions taken in one situation, at one point in time, that will then have consequences for generations. I think it does a really good job of exploring the thought processes behind some of those decisions, without ever being overly sympathetic, or overly judgemental. 

It starts off quite slow, and for a while I really wasn't sure if this was the book I thought it was going to be, but the change in POV between sections is a very effective way of telling the story. It does all come together at the end, I just felt it became a bit "extreme" in the last section, but then again the idea of extremism does lie at the centre of it all. 

Definitely worth reading, and I feel like it's probably a starting point for me to explore more books around this topic.