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Brotherless Night

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Brotherless Night

By: V. V. Ganeshananthan
Narrated by: Nirmala Rajasingam
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024

Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war tears through her hometown of Jaffna, her dream takes her on a different path as she sees those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. Desperate to act, she must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm?

'A masterpiece of historical fiction' MONICA ALI, chair of judges for the Women's Prize for Fiction

'An unforgettable account of a country and a family coming undone… Brotherless Night is a spectacular work of historical fiction' Guardian

'A heartbreaking exploration of a family fractured by civil war' BRIT BENNETT, bestselling author of THE VANISHING HALF

'Blazingly brilliant' CELESTE NG, bestselling author of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

'Stunningly great' Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of ROMANTIC COMEDY, via Twitter

'Ganeshananthan is a superb writer...I wept at many points in this novel and I also wept when it was over' Sunday Times


WINNER OF THE CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION

©2023 V. V. Ganeshananthan (P)2023 Penguin Audio Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military World Literature Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking

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This novel is very closely based on the facts of the Sri Lankan civil war which I knew virtually nothing about. It is narrated by a Tamil woman who was a young girl at the beginning of the war.

It's written in quite a straightforward and matter of fact style which took a while to get into but that is one of the things that makes it so brilliant and moving. It avoids gory details of violence and sentimentality which a lesser author might be tempted to do. It focuses on the results of the violence on ordinary people who are not powerful but are caught in the middle of power struggles between 3 group - the Sri Lankan Government, the Tamil Tigers and the Indian 'peacekeepers'.

The book also exposes that there is no simple good and bad as the Tamil Tigers, supposedly fighting for freedom are as cruel as the government they are fighting and the Indian 'peacekeepers' are also cruel and violent. It powerfully explores, too, the terrible decisions ordinary people have to make to survive when that can involve making moral compromises just to survive. And the consequences for the few, incredibly brave people who do take a stand against the violence and try to document the abuses. The straightforward narrative means that this isn't overwhelming although it's a tough listen but a very rewarding one.

Although set in the Sri Lankan civil war, it's probably also what happens in most wars so has much wider significance. Highly recommend.

Brilliant and moving book

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I am of an age where I remember so much of this civil war on the news but the horror of it did not come across. This is a very hard hitting book where one person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist. Civil war is brutal and I do feel the book rightly shows the Tamil leaders moving towards megalomania rather than representing the people they were supposed to protect. However, the same can be said of the other side. In the end, this story has parralels with all civil wars such as Northern Ireland during the troubles. Not sure I would be comfortable visiting Sri Lanka now.

Brutal story of tragic war

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Sure to become a classic one day. Classics are what I usually read, but this is as good as the best of them.

Best contemporary book I've read this year

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The recount of Sri-Lankan civil war from insider's perspective - an interesting topic, but cardboard characters and dry narration (from the author, not the audiobook's performer) kept me at arm's length emotionally and made the book much less powerful.

important topic, poor storytelling

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compassionate telling of a terrible time in SriLankas history. The futility of war. The destruction of good people caught up in a power struggle of differing points of view

Beautiful telling of war in SriLanka ..it recounts the devastation of people and country

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