V. V. Ganeshanathan
Author of Love Marriage
About the Author
V. V. Ganeshananthan served for a year as the Writer in Residence at Phillips Exeter Academy.
Image credit: Preston Merchant
Works by V. V. Ganeshanathan
Associated Works
Many Roads Through Paradise: An Anthology Of Sri Lankan Literature (translation) (2014) — Contributor — 7 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Ganeshanathan, V. V.
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Michigan, USA
- Education
- Columbia University (MA|Journalism)
University of Iowa (MFA) - Awards and honors
- Orange Prize Long List
Washington Post Book World's Best of 2008
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 3
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 330
- Popularity
- #71,937
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 69
- ISBNs
- 18
- Languages
- 3
“Imagine the places you grew up, the places you studied, places that belonged to your people, burned. But I should stop pretending that I know you. Perhaps you do not have to imagine. Perhaps your library, too, went up in smoke.”
In 1981 Jaffna, sixteen-year-old Sashikala “Sashi” Kulenthiren dreams of becoming a doctor just like her eldest brother Niranjan and her late grandfather who was a renowned physician in Colombo. But as the civil war in Sri Lanka intensifies and violence ensues between the warring factions- the Sinhalese government and the Tamil militants who are fighting for an independent state free of persecution of the Tamils, life as she has known it shall be changed forever. When one of her brothers loses his life in an act of anti-Tamil violence and two of her brothers and a family friend join the “movement” Sashi finds herself making choices and being drawn into a life she had never imagined for herself- a medical student also working as a medic for those serving in the movement. As she bears witness to the politics, the violence, and the activism of the 1980s she eventually embarks on exposing the true plight of civilians caught in the crossfire between the warring factions of the Sinhalese government, Tamil militants and the Indian peacekeeping forces through the written word with the help of one of her professors taking risks that could endanger her life and those of her associates.
“I want you to understand: it does not matter if you cannot imagine the future. Still, relentless, it comes.”
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan is a compelling read. Set in the early stages of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war, the author takes us through the turbulence of 1980s Jaffna/Colombo including Black July and its aftermath, combining historical fact with fiction. The author writes with passion yet does not fill the pages with any excess – be it words or sentimentality. Narrated in the first person by our protagonist, Sashi, the tone is direct, often matter-of-fact yet there is much depth to the words, the characters and their stories. At times this book reads as a true account rather than a work of fiction. This is one of those rare books that is difficult to read yet impossible to put down.
Many thanks to the author, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this exceptionally well-written novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
“It did not occur to me to count or prove, to measure our losses for history or for other people to understand or believe. I did not collect the evidence of my own destroyed life; I did not know people would ask me for it.”… (more)