Brotherless Night – by V. V. Ganeshananthan

This engrossing and heartbreaking novel shines a passionate light on a lesser-known tragedy of modern ethnic warfare, the decades-long civil war targeting the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Told by Sashi, the only girl in a Tamil family with four brothers, three older, one younger, the story begins in 1981, when Sashi is almost 16, living in a loving, comfortable home where education is highly valued. Sashi herself aspires to be a physician, as her eldest brother is, and her other siblings are interested in engineering, literature, and current events.

The Tamils are the minority population in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon. They did well under British rule, but now that the Sinhalese majority is in control, they face frequent random as well as institutionalized discrimination and violence.

Rebellion against the official government, and the government’s heavy-handed response, leads to years of murder, rape, and displacement. It splits families, such as Sashi’s, with two of her brothers joining the infamous Tamil Tigers, who, while presenting themselves as liberators, usually act like terrorists to Tamil civilians as well as government oppressors.

Sashi herself becomes involved in the conflict during her medical studies, providing treatment to all who cannot get help elsewhere. During this time, she comes under the mentorship of a brilliant and compassionate female physician and with her, in defiance of both the government and the rebels, works to convince other countries to intervene.

For all the tragedy it explores, this novel is a loving and lovely tribute to the people of Sri Lanka, especially the women, in dark times.

A book that spoke to my heart. Haunting, searing social commentary, and a vivid painting of war and its effects. Having been to Sri Lanka I wished I had read this book beforehand. However, that visit made this book even more real for me. For anyone that wants to learn more about the country and the 30 year old war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sinhalese this fictionalized account has so much accuracy. It took the author 18 years to write and it shows! It is told from the point of view of Sasha who at the beginning is a 16 year old girl, Sashi, who dreams of being a doctor. She is surrounded by a loving family including 2 older brothers and one younger one. A fateful day occurred when one of her brother's friend, K, who was studying to be a doctor, applied egg to her burns to soothe the pain and heal the skin. He became important to her as a secret crush and as a model for fighting for his beliefs.
As the civil war between the Tigers, other militant groups within the community and the Sinhalese escalated she helped out at a field hospital helping the wounded and the Tamil cadres who were fighting for their freedom. The Tamil minority in the north of the country were fighting for their own statehood after being a discriminated and abused minority for years. Watching her older brothers and others become swept up in the political dogma and the violent repercussions she begins to question the effects of war and its consequences.
As the book advances, the horror and immediacy of pain in her world left me racing through the pages as I felt a real need to know how it would all end. Morally complex, I experienced and learned so much in this brave, compassionate novel. I can't stop thinking about it.

Thank you @Netgalley for the ARC of Brotherless Night. This was a heart wrenching novel about the Sri Lanka civil war. It follows a family of 4 brothers and 1 sister through the war and how the war affects their lives and relationships. Sashi wants to become a doctor, but the war gets in the way of her dreams. This book is about family, friendships, and morality and what kind of decisions you make when faced with tragedy.

There already a lot of reviews for this, so I'll just say that I liked it because of it's complex characters and exploration of morality, among other things. Well written,

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I enjoyed the book and the struggle the characters faced but at times it was a bit too much and hard to swallow. It was a bit too dark for me at times.

5✨
historical fiction, literary fiction
cw: genocide, rape, war

Brotherless Night is a moving novel about the Sri Lankan Civil War and the ways the war pushes humans to unimaginable corners of decision making. how the people closest to us can become unrecognizable. this book is all consuming, with a plot that draws you in and characters you’ll feel deeply connected to. this is a book about survival

and in some ways this novel speaks to the courage and strength of women, who traditionally bear the brunt of the terrible choices of the men in their lives. the women who continue to navigate their choices with dignity and resolve, who make beauty out of war, out of destruction. although this novel seemingly centers on Sashi’s brothers and father, it’s really an examination of the perspective of women during this war

thank you to @RandomHouse and @Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review! publishing date is January 3rd, 2023

In this harrowing account of the Sri Lankan civil war, a young woman loses her brothers either as victims or recruitment by the rebels and ends up aiding the rebel forces in order to save lives while attending medical school.

This is a beautiful, lyrical novel based on a sad and deadly chapter in history in Sir Lanka, South Asia. In the beginning years of the conflict, 1981, Sashi is growing up in Janka with her three brothers and parents living what seems to be a healthy and happy life. Sashi hopes to do well in her studies and become a doctor. She harbors a crush on K, a good friend of her brothers, and he’s there to help her during various trials of growing up.
But unspeakable tragedies begin in her country and with each passing day, the bloodshed moves closer to her front steps. Fleeing to survive, Sashi agrees to work as a medic at a field hospital for one of the fighting military factions. As time progresses, she loses touch with her brothers, and events happen that are against her moral code.
The writing of this historical fiction is beautiful but it doesn’t shy away from painting a realistic picture of the horrors of history. Revealing the depth of depravity man can do to fellow man, but weaving in the hope for a better tomorrow, this is not an easy book to read. It is a loose history of the horrible impact of the civil war, and the toll it takes on countries, families, and in particular, one young lady with hopes and aspirations.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is January 3, 2023.

4.5 stars

An amazing book that chronicles the battles between the Tamils and the government in Sri Lanka. Spoken with the voice of an insider who lived amidst the devastation and carnage to secure the truth for the rest of the world to see.

Sashi and her brothers are lost to each other in their convictions and the story unfolds of their experiences. Committed to a life of doctor-ing Sashi must face the inevitable passage of time, locations, and loss of those most important to her. There is no right or wrong when you love someone, there is only the constant bridge that keeps you united in spite of the choices each makes.

A powerful story, about a topic not known to many but certainly experienced by those who have survived the scourge of any war throughout time regardless of location.

Engaging and powerful, these are characters who embody their beliefs and values, whether you as a reader agree with them or not. V.V. Ganeshananthan has given a recount of this historic time in Sri Lanka with much depth and emotion and has made the reader more knowledgeable through her words.

I would love to see this book on the big screen.

Thank you #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishing for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

Painful, anguishing, and eloquent. It’s a hard book to consume in mass quantities because the story is raw and unrelenting. It’s a war many outside of the region know very little about and it gives an inside look into how a family could be divided and impacted.

This book wasn't for me. I thought the opening line was very strong, but after that I just couldn't get into it or connect to the narrator. I know very little about Sri Lanka and the book covers a lot of horrific atrocities, but the book was a struggle to get through and moved pretty slowly. I've enjoyed other books set in cultures and countries I know little about like The Girl with the Louding Voice, Such Big Dreams, and The Bandit Queens, but sadly this story wasn't meant for a reader like me.

A wonderous, luminous story of family and rebellion.
In 1981, Sashi lives in Jaffna, Sri Lanka with her 4 brothers and beloved parents. A civil war erupts and her family is quickly torn apart.
As part of the Tamil minority, her family is expected to support the militant group the Tamil Tigers. The cost of the support, however, is far more than anyone could have ever guessed.

Follow Sashi from age 16 through medical school, as she volunteers as a field doctor, supports her parents and questions what she truly believes. Her voice is one, that you will never forget, and as the reader you are forced again and again to ask yourself - What would you do?

Set during the early years of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war, based on the historical record, this is a sweeping, emotional novel that you truly will never forget. If you like novels about family, obstacles, real world themes and international cultures, Brotherless Night is a brilliant book for you!
#RandomHousePublishing

Brotherless Night is an absolute triumph. It is a masterpiece, giving us one woman's perspective of the Sri Lankan Civil War, and simultaneously showing us how in that one perspective lies everything. It is the story of coming of age into a world that becomes increasingly fragmented and horrific, where every lesson comes at a painful cost, and every lovely memory seems to exact an exorbitant price. And yet despite the pain, there is so much beauty in this book, at a fundamental, granular level. Every sentence is stunning, bringing a complicated world and unforgettable characters to life.

But it feels wrong to reduce Brotherless Night to its aesthetic achievements when it feels so crucial, so important, so much more than its sentences or characters, its symbols or arcs. This is a book that feels like a whole world, filled with vital questions and the kind of wrenching heartbreak that stays with you long after the book has closed. I feel certain that if I met Sashi on the street, I would recognize her. This is a novel that particular alchemy of the best fiction: it feels like life, but more so.

I will be pressing Brotherless Night into everyone's hands, because you need to read this book immediately.

Brotherless Night is a page turner; a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece of story telling that will leave a dull heartache as you turn each page in anticipation and dread of the all too familiar tragedy of what has been, and still is, Sri Lanka.

It is all at once about family, community, belonging, racism, caste, war, feminism, migration, geo-politics, opportunity, familiar characters and historical events all woven together. What stands out is that the story centers the people's perspective. A rare glimpse into the humanity of the myriad of silent stories, interwoven within heartbreak, unspeakable injustices, love, passion, and potential, the pages left me sobbing for the collective trauma of a nation.

The many voiceless, conveniently lost, uncounted, and left behind in the pages of recent history by a government that failed its citizens --and the culpability of the majority of fellow citizens echo silently between these pages. Grateful for the line VVG walks, illuminating and lifting up the women of the movement, the unsung heroes. Ultimately, a love letter to the mothers of the resistance and families lost. If you haven't read VVG's previous work, Brotherless Night is a quick introduction for those curious to understand a little bit of Sri Lanka, but also for those who are all too familiar with these narratives. Brotherless Night allows a fresh perspective, to be reminded of our own humanity, and in the end, what really matters. You won't regret it.

Brotherless Night presents us with a memoir feeling novel about Sashi, a young teenage girl in Sri Lanka in the early 80s. She is Tamil, living in Jaffna with her parents, her 3 older brothers, and a younger brother as well. Sashi wants to become a doctor but must contend with the unrest and violence as Sri Lanka erupts into a civil war between the Sinhalese majority, and the Tamil minority. Her brothers are swept up into the mounting tensions and she must decide for herself what side she is on in all the conflict.

I knew almost nothing about the civil war in Sri Lanka and found this novel to be engrossing in that sense, presenting me with a new perspective on an important piece of history for the island nation. I found the writing to be clear, with a great flow, and was fully pulled into Sashi's world. As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, this book felt very much like a memoir, with minimal dialogue and a fairly straightforward presentation of events, which explorations of how Sashi was feeling at key moments in her life. With that said, the presentation of the topic in this manner made it difficult for me to truly feel connected and emotionally invested in the characters and the events.

Overall, with that in mind, I would rate this book a high 3.5 stars, rounded up. I appreciated the opportunity to learn and be immersed in a fictional accounting of this piece of Sri Lankan history but would have preferred a more emotional connected retelling.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

In the Prologue the reader is asked to consider the word “civilian” in place of “terrorist.” Coming from a homeland engulfed in war for many years, Sashi has had her life and dreams altered drastically. She and all the young people around her want a college education. She plans to become a doctor. Instead they are drawn into a bloody battle between the Sinhalese and Tamil people of Sri Lanka. When she and her eldest brother seek sanctuary in her grandmother’s home, the war follows and Tamils like her are slaughtered and burned out of their homes. It is here she experiences her first “brotherless night” when he does not come home. Returning to her native city, she experiences more such nights as she watches two brothers join the Tamil militants and her youngest brother become a prisoner. She loves deeply a childhood friend, a dedicated soldier who involves her in the Revolution when he asks her to tend to wounded men. She loses people she loves and admires. V.V. Ganeshananthan’s novel demonstrates a tremendous loss of youth and talent. The tone is one of melancholy and regret. She leads us to wonder how and why in the midst of human degradation do people work so hard to survive?

First, do no harm. Sashi tries her best to abide by the Hippocratic Oath in Ganeshananthan's Brotherless Night, and it evolves as she becomes a doctor during the Sri Lankan Civil War. While this book tackles tough topics, I couldn't put it down. I particularly liked how Ganeshananthan wrote about Sashi's relationships with people, especially her relationships with her brothers, and how the relationships evolved as the Civil War progressed. Without giving away spoilers, I can say that this book made me feel the full spectrum of emotions by the time I finished it. It is not a surprise given that this book takes place during the Civil War, but there are mentions of sexual assault from the point of view of a physician, in case that is something of concern to readers out there. (I received an ARC of Brotherless Night via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This story was amazing, about surviving while in the midst of a civil war. Before reading this story I really knew nothing about Sri Lanka and the Tamils. Sashi, a young girl, has wanted to be a doctor since she was a child. This was a real
eye-opening story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book follows a young woman who’s goal is to become a doctor, however her country of Sri Lanka goes through a civil war. Life changes for her, her family, and her friends as they all take different roles during the war.

I was unfamiliar with the Sri Lankan Civil War, so much that I didn’t even know that it happened. Brotherless Night was informative and it also told the stories of various people and the atrocities committed by all sides. It started slow at first, and then it picked up to really showcase how normal her and her brother’s lives were. I thought some of the romance came out of nowhere and I really wish that relationship was more fleshed out.

I still recommend this book, especially since I feel it’s about something that isn’t mentioned in American textbooks.

This novel is a devastating history of the Tamil fight for independence in Sri Lanka, told through the perspective of a girl who grows to become a medical student who works for the Tamil Tigers at one of their clandestine field hospitals. Protagonist Sashi grows up with four brothers and a boy from down the street whom she secretly loves. Her idyllic childhood ends with the growing abuse of ethnic Tamils by the governing Sinhalese: her eldest brother is killed in riots; two other brothers join one of the militant groups fighting the Sinhalese; her crush becomes a leader of the independence movement and eventually dies after having embarked in a hunger strike, Sashi at his side. At first I felt the book slow-paced, but by the middle I realized why the author chose this pacing--it helps make the reader feel what Sashi and her parents and friends felt as they waited for news of their loved ones, as they waited in rubble, waiting for a safe time to flee. I felt like I was holding my breath as I read, experiencing that waiting. This is a book of great importance--I think few Westerners really understand what was happening in Sri Lanka during the period of the book, and this will help them learn about it.