Brotherless Night

A Novel

By: V. V. Ganeshananthan

Narrated by: Nirmala Rajasingam

New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A courageous young Sri Lankan woman tries to protect her dream of becoming a doctor in this “heartbreaking exploration of a family fractured by civil war” (Brit Bennett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half).

“This book, a careful, vivid exploration of what’s lost within a community when life and thought collapse toward binary conflict, rang softly for me as a novel for our own country in this odd time.”—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • WINNER OF THE CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION, THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION, AND THE ASIAN PRIZE FOR FICTION • FINALIST FOR THE MINNESOTA BOOK AWARD

Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence. Desperate to act, Sashi accepts K’s invitation to work as a medic at a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers, who, following years of state discrimination and violence, are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. But after the Tigers murder one of her teachers and Indian peacekeepers arrive only to commit further atrocities, Sashi begins to question where she stands. When one of her medical school professors, a Tamil feminist and dissident, invites her to join a secret project documenting human rights violations, she embarks on a dangerous path that will change her forever.

Set during the early years of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war, Brotherless Night is a heartrending portrait of one woman’s moral journey and a testament to both the enduring impact of war and the bonds of home.

Excellent use of language - very eloquent author

The descriptions were so vivid I could almost see the sights and smell the food. It was a great description of the culture and traditions.

History no one teaches

Very hard to learn what I had no idea was happening, and it seems to be repeating.

Another amazing book by Vasugi

I love this story, for the story and the way it is wriiten. Amazing story of a girl in a war zone that tried to do the right thing.

Jaw dropping listen as war comes to life

I listened to this audio during my road trips and I was hooked.

While listening, I saw myself in Sashi, the main character. She, her brothers and their good friend “K” had grand dreams of futures as doctors, engineers and government officials. Sadly, three out of five main characters, all young people, died.

It also brought home the lesser known civil war between the Tamils and Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka. I had learned about this conflict when I took a South Asian history class in college. My cousin’s husband also served in the Indian Army, having been deployed there. But reading this book took me to the heart of the conflict, where I felt the pain of war.

However, a few tweaks might have made the story stronger. The author begins the story by calling herself a terrorist, then saying she sent a letter to another terrorist. Then she jumps back thirty or so years earlier, when her brother’s friend K nursed her from a home accident. A liking and budding romance begins between the two, making the reader think that K is the terrorist she sends a letter to. Unfortunately, it’s not. If the author had made K the terrorist, whom she rejects after a lifetime of admiration, the story might have been more meaningful.

The book also had extraneous elements like when Sashi goes to a UN officer to plead for helping her fellow Tamils back home, but the officer does nothing.

Overall, however, I enjoyed the story and plan to give it a second listen.

Stunning

One of the best books I have read/listened to in a very long time…