book review : brotherless night
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading age: 16+
Rating: 8/10
You’ll like this if you’ve read: A Thousand Splendid Suns
I recently joined my work book club and our April book was chosen by a random generator and landed on Brotherless Night. At first I had low expectations, as I didn’t know much of Sri Lanka’s history or the author but after reading the first page I was hooked. It’s not everyday you get in the mind of a ‘terrorist’.
That being said, calling someone a terrorist is very nuanced. I definitely believe in the grey area between terrorism and freedom fighting, however once we refrain from using it as a noun and rather a verb, it becomes pretty clear. This book shows that anyone inflicting terror on another, regardless of the motivations can be deemed a terrorist, whether part of a militant group, the government or an international peacekeeping regime. It shows us that freedom from oppression cannot be gained through oppressing another. It even highlights how non violent tactics can be a bigger motivator for those who make decisions to do the right thing. But most importantly to me, this story is one of many around world, where conflict feels too small to the western world for genuine intervention and devastation is ignored.
The book follows Sashi, who is the only daughter amongst four brothers, from a small town in Sri Lanka where oppression of the Tamil population leads to a militant uprising. Amidst the brewing war, education is the common thread between the siblings, and in Sashi’s case this means pursuing a medical career - like her older brother, father and grandfather. Throughout the story we learn about Sashi’s innate desires to help people and where it leads her. We also observe the admiration and bond she shares with people who are motivated by the same thing, even when it leads them to different paths. Interestingly, although there’s an emphasis on familial relationships, shared ideology is stronger binding agent.
Ganeshananthan uses a unique way of storytelling whereby the story feels like a stream of consciousness, almost as if we’re reading Sashi’s diary. We follow the story not as the events occurred but as Sashi remembers them. She often breaks the fourth wall and addresses us the readers, to remind us that this is an account from her perspective and that we need not judge the incidents that have occurred but rather reflect on what she has shared and why she has shared it.
Although the story only spans a decade, it depicts clearly where the Tamil uprising stemmed from and what it ultimately became. Ganeshananthan writes the story almost like a memoir, and tries to refrain from immersing Sashi’s own opinions into the recollection of events. Each chapter has a clear focus, making the story easy to follow and giving us a rounded view of the events. It’s as if Ganeshananthan wanted to present all the information objectively and let us to form our own opinions and in giving us this choice we are able to understand the war more holistically. Even if we don’t agree with the decisions made by the characters, we understand their motivations.
This is the perfect book for a book club, there’s so much more to discuss, from the role of women to the responsibility of the state, if you’re reading this book, you’re going to have deep conversations about society. And because of the style of writing, any plot holes can be forgiven as Sashi only share what she knows and we’re left to fill the gaps.
Buy it here: https://amzn.to/3GqmUyv
Reading age: 16+
Rating: 8/10
You’ll like this if you’ve read: A Thousand Splendid Suns
I recently joined my work book club and our April book was chosen by a random generator and landed on Brotherless Night. At first I had low expectations, as I didn’t know much of Sri Lanka’s history or the author but after reading the first page I was hooked. It’s not everyday you get in the mind of a ‘terrorist’.
That being said, calling someone a terrorist is very nuanced. I definitely believe in the grey area between terrorism and freedom fighting, however once we refrain from using it as a noun and rather a verb, it becomes pretty clear. This book shows that anyone inflicting terror on another, regardless of the motivations can be deemed a terrorist, whether part of a militant group, the government or an international peacekeeping regime. It shows us that freedom from oppression cannot be gained through oppressing another. It even highlights how non violent tactics can be a bigger motivator for those who make decisions to do the right thing. But most importantly to me, this story is one of many around world, where conflict feels too small to the western world for genuine intervention and devastation is ignored.
The book follows Sashi, who is the only daughter amongst four brothers, from a small town in Sri Lanka where oppression of the Tamil population leads to a militant uprising. Amidst the brewing war, education is the common thread between the siblings, and in Sashi’s case this means pursuing a medical career - like her older brother, father and grandfather. Throughout the story we learn about Sashi’s innate desires to help people and where it leads her. We also observe the admiration and bond she shares with people who are motivated by the same thing, even when it leads them to different paths. Interestingly, although there’s an emphasis on familial relationships, shared ideology is stronger binding agent.
Ganeshananthan uses a unique way of storytelling whereby the story feels like a stream of consciousness, almost as if we’re reading Sashi’s diary. We follow the story not as the events occurred but as Sashi remembers them. She often breaks the fourth wall and addresses us the readers, to remind us that this is an account from her perspective and that we need not judge the incidents that have occurred but rather reflect on what she has shared and why she has shared it.
Although the story only spans a decade, it depicts clearly where the Tamil uprising stemmed from and what it ultimately became. Ganeshananthan writes the story almost like a memoir, and tries to refrain from immersing Sashi’s own opinions into the recollection of events. Each chapter has a clear focus, making the story easy to follow and giving us a rounded view of the events. It’s as if Ganeshananthan wanted to present all the information objectively and let us to form our own opinions and in giving us this choice we are able to understand the war more holistically. Even if we don’t agree with the decisions made by the characters, we understand their motivations.
This is the perfect book for a book club, there’s so much more to discuss, from the role of women to the responsibility of the state, if you’re reading this book, you’re going to have deep conversations about society. And because of the style of writing, any plot holes can be forgiven as Sashi only share what she knows and we’re left to fill the gaps.
Buy it here: https://amzn.to/3GqmUyv
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