lgindc's review
4.5
Excellent. 4 1/2 stars. A teenage girl tries to survive, and find meaning in, the start and early years of Sri Lanka's civil war. This is more than an account of violence tearing a country, and a family, apart. It's about who gets to make the crucial decisions, and who gets to tell the story of what happened. Given the difficult topic, I had to put it down fairly regularly. But I'm so glad I read it.
theinkwyrm's review
5.0
This novel is a work of art. It deals with a challenging subject in a masterful and compelling way and the writing is compulsively readable (I literally stayed up hours past when I’d normally go to sleep because I couldn’t put it down and I don’t do that with many books). I love how the author writes unapologetically about the Tamil and Sri Lankan peoples in a way that is still comprehensible to someone (aka me) who knows next to nothing about them prior to reading this. I am also very impressed with how she writes about this civil war in a way that encompasses the intimate details of one family and the broader movements of people groups, organizations, and even countries in a way that isn’t confusing while also bringing in issues of racial inequality, feminism, and the discrimination of the caste system along with all the atrocities of war. An absolute masterpiece.
_priyanga's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
hannahbailey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was an intense and evocative look into the Sri Lankan civil war from the perspective of one woman, whose life and family were torn apart by it.
The narrative takes a journalistic approach to storytelling, to the point that I felt I was reading a factual eye-witness account of the horrors of the past. Despite the first-person POV, the narrative is pointedly lacking in human emotion and reaction. The recounting of events is direct, so no facts or details are hidden or sugarcoated to protect the reader. This makes for a heavy read as things go from bad to worse, with little reprieve. These aren’t criticisms — in fact, I felt it was a deliberate and powerful choice to convey the story in this way. The narrator experiences unspeakable losses within her own family and witnesses many more atrocities of war. The only way she can tell the truth — which is her aim from the beginning — is to remove much of the heightened emotion she must be feeling.
There is less dialogue than I would expect to find in a novel, but the nature of the plot allows for it. I’m not sure this narrative style is necessarily for me, but it’s refreshing to read something different. I learned a lot about Sri Lanka’s recent history and politics which I found really interesting. The novel spans about 30 years, but follows the narrator and the decisions made by those around her, rather than taking a wider lens to the world at the time. It was particularly poignant then when the author brings in the United Nations towards the end of the novel — after so much ‘avoidable’ conflict and death, the UN’s ambivalence towards civilians’ lives was the final nail in the coffin of what was a horrific and drawn-out war. I was shocked to discover the conflict was still going on in 2009. An informative read if your history education was as white-washed and colonised as mine.
If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy Moth by Melody Razak for similar tone of voice and the depiction of war through one family's experience.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review
TW: war, death, murder, child death, rape, violence, sexual violence, fire, blood/gore, injury detail, kidnapping, torture, genocide, grief, suicide, animal
The narrative takes a journalistic approach to storytelling, to the point that I felt I was reading a factual eye-witness account of the horrors of the past. Despite the first-person POV, the narrative is pointedly lacking in human emotion and reaction. The recounting of events is direct, so no facts or details are hidden or sugarcoated to protect the reader. This makes for a heavy read as things go from bad to worse, with little reprieve. These aren’t criticisms — in fact, I felt it was a deliberate and powerful choice to convey the story in this way. The narrator experiences unspeakable losses within her own family and witnesses many more atrocities of war. The only way she can tell the truth — which is her aim from the beginning — is to remove much of the heightened emotion she must be feeling.
There is less dialogue than I would expect to find in a novel, but the nature of the plot allows for it. I’m not sure this narrative style is necessarily for me, but it’s refreshing to read something different. I learned a lot about Sri Lanka’s recent history and politics which I found really interesting. The novel spans about 30 years, but follows the narrator and the decisions made by those around her, rather than taking a wider lens to the world at the time. It was particularly poignant then when the author brings in the United Nations towards the end of the novel — after so much ‘avoidable’ conflict and death, the UN’s ambivalence towards civilians’ lives was the final nail in the coffin of what was a horrific and drawn-out war. I was shocked to discover the conflict was still going on in 2009. An informative read if your history education was as white-washed and colonised as mine.
If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy Moth by Melody Razak for similar tone of voice and the depiction of war through one family's experience.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review
TW: war, death, murder, child death, rape, violence, sexual violence, fire, blood/gore, injury detail, kidnapping, torture, genocide, grief, suicide, animal
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Murder, Torture, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Confinement, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, War, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Suicide, Animal death, Blood, and Gore
wjsn's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
such a poignant, brilliant novel. you can feel how tenderly it was written, how larger-than-life each character was, how horrific it is to grow up and live in the midst of war, and how tragic it is to forever change afterwards.
anju_'s review
5.0
"Brotherless Night" is an immersive and incredibly moving novel. It tells the story of the Sri Lankan civil war through the perspective of Sashi, a medical student from Jaffna. I realize just how powerful first-person narratives and fiction are after reading this book. As someone who is a part of the Tamil diaspora, I have heard fragments of this story before. Nevertheless this was a very difficult read. This book transported me to back to Sri Lanka in the 1980s and made me think deeply about politics and war, it made me cry and even have nightmares. I love how Ganeshanathan does not write in black and white but instead chooses to explore the gray areas. I'm glad this book exists and I hope it reaches a wider audience.
Other cool observations:
The book expands on characters like 'Sir' who was referenced in Ganeshanathan's first novel "Love Marriage." Also, like "Love Marriage" many characters are doctors allowing Ganeshanathan to contrast the discipline of medicine with the damages of war. There are characters who appear to be semi-fictionalized versions of Thileepan and Rajani Thiranagama.
The breaking the fourth wall aspects of thr narration reminded me of The Book Thief.
Other cool observations:
The book expands on characters like 'Sir' who was referenced in Ganeshanathan's first novel "Love Marriage." Also, like "Love Marriage" many characters are doctors allowing Ganeshanathan to contrast the discipline of medicine with the damages of war. There are characters who appear to be semi-fictionalized versions of Thileepan and Rajani Thiranagama.
The breaking the fourth wall aspects of thr narration reminded me of The Book Thief.
zainub_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
lishani's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0