V. V. Ganeshanathan

In this novel’s opening pages, Sashikala Kulenthiren, the story’s narrator, is a sixteen year old student living in the majority-Tamil city of Jaffa, a city in northeast Sri Lanka. She is a student preparing to take exams that will allow her to go to medical school. The year is 1981 and in the following chapters, Sashikala describes the beginnings of Sri Lanka’s three decades long civil war and its effects on her family, community, and personal life.

The civil war, sparked following show more anti-Tamil pogroms carried out by the country’s majority Sinhalese population, has led to the formation of militant groups demanding the creation of an independent Tamil state. One of these, the Tamil Tigers, soon becomes the dominant force in and around Jaffa, and two of Sashikala’s brothers plus a close friend decide to become members of the group. While she is sympathetic with the rebels’ cause, she is deeply troubled by the Tamil Tigers’ ruthless suppression of community members who refuse to take part in the rebellion or who dare to question the terrorist tactics they are using against the government. This leads to the killings of a number of professors and other people she knows in the years following.

Brotherless Night describes Sashikala’s moral journey as she tries to navigate her way through the unfolding conflict. A gifted storyteller, Ganeshananthan captures this young woman’s dilemma as she is forced to decide on how much support to provide the Tamil Tigers as a physician, and whether or not to remain silent against their terrorist tactics and the brute force they employ to keep citizens in line. For those wishing to know more about the Sri Lanka civil war, this novel vividly captures its complexities and presents a heartrending portrait of the conflict as seen through one woman’s eyes. I wholeheartedly recommend this haunting read. show less

Wow! Amazing writing and what a story. This is the story of a young teen (Sashi) whose family is ripped apart by the 25 year civil war in Sri Lanka. Some of her brothers join the rebellion; some die at the hands of rebels or government forces. I really felt the emotional toll on Sashi. Her story is well written and at times hard to read because the sorrows and horrors of living in a war zone never lets up. And it's also hard to read sometimes because of its brutal honesty – including show more ambiguity of conflicting emotions, beliefs within a person. It’s about her experiences and internal struggles navigating through a civil war and its impacts on her family. It’s a coming of age story regarding morals.

We know this is a novel. The people aren't real. In fact, some of them remain a bit obscure in order, I think, to represent any people in any conflict. But the particulars of this conflict -- the events portrayed in the novel -- are real. The book often reads like a memoir.

This book grabbed me from the first sentence and never let me go. show less

The Sri Lankan Civil War began in 1983, with the Tamil Tigers rebelling against violent persecution and demanding the creation of an independent state. The government defeated the Tamils in 2009. The war resulted in thousands of casualties, both military and civilian, often through terrorist acts. Families were displaced, and some people suddenly disappeared, detained by the authorities. Homes were invaded and set on fire, often with loss of life. Young Tamil men were recruited by the show more movement and left their families to fight, becoming what today we would call “radicalized.”

Brotherless Night is a vivid, gripping depiction of a Tamil family during this period. Sashi lives with her parents and four brothers (three older, one younger). She is studying for her A-Level exams and hopes to follow her oldest brother to medical school. The war intervenes, drawing the family into the conflict. While Sashi is eventually able to continue pursuing her goal, she follows a winding and unconventional path that brings her into direct contact with the movement and acts of resistance and protest. Meanwhile every young man she knows, including her brothers, are swept up in the struggle, and Sashi and her family experience unimaginable loss.

I was impressed with the storytelling in this novel and it was hard to put down, but it was also relentless in its unflinching portrait of one modern-day war, which is probably similar to others happening today. I found myself working hard to maintain emotional distance because it was just too much. But I learned a great deal and am glad I read it. show less

Evil is not limited by what you can personally imagine.
from Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan

Brotherless Night is a shattering novel. It reads like a memoir, the narrator’s voice so direct and real, or a journalistic retelling of a true story. I have read books that touched on the Sri Lanka Civil War between the majority population Sinhalese and the Tamil minority. Ethnic violence by the Sinhalese against the Tamil resulted in a backlash; the Tamil Tigers arose, over time becoming show more equally as fearsome in their civilian attacks. Boys were taken hostage, forced to serve in the army of one side or the other. India’s peacekeeping force tried to disarm both sides; the Tigers attacked them with suicide bombers. The conflict went on for decades.

In this novel, I was transported deep into the experiences of civilians who are inspired to action, either to defend their people or to serve all people. They witness first hand terrorism and suffering, all the horror of war. Friends turn on friends, student against teacher, siblings are divided, families displaced.

The novel begins before the war when Sashi and her brother and his friend K are preparing to study medicine, meeting up at the library. When the beloved older brother is killed in an attack, two of her brothers and the friend join the Tamil Tigers. When the Sinhalese round up village boys and takes her youngest brother, her mother and the woman of the village gather in protest. “What will we do when the men are speechless,” the leader cries out, demanding the boys’ release.

Sashi wants nothing more than to heal. She is drawn to volunteer in a Tamil field hospital, treating cadre and civilian victims of the war. Faced with one moral choice after another, Sashi is drawn into overt and covert activities. When a patient, a victim of a horrific attack, wrecks her revenge in a dramatic way, Sashi is moved to become political.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians were caught between the armies while the United Nations and the world watched without sending aid.

Ganeshananthan’s novel is hard to put down and hard to read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less