Reviews with content warning for Rape - Brotherless Night: A Novel

This book was dreadfully slow. There is so much preliminary world building and exposition that has to happen before the real bulk of the story can take place, and I probably would have DNF'd it for how slow the pacing was if it hadn't made the WPfF shortlist.
That said, though, I am glad that I didn't. This is one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read, but it is so important that narratives like these exist. Sashi being a young girl, just a handful of years younger than myself for a majority of the book, I strongly empathized with her thoughts and actions as she did the best she could in impossibly difficult situations.
War is devastating, for anyone and everyone involved. There is no winner, even when the fighting is over. And this story shows you exactly that.

Content Warnings

nov_ella's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

happyknitter2020's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Absolutely brilliant book. Read as shortlisted for The Women's Prize 2024...think this is the clear winner. The writing is beautiful, strong & clear. Learned so much about the civil war & complex trauma experiments. A definitive 5 star book, will be at the top of my 2024 books.

Content Warnings

jouljet's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

abbieh95's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.75

Content Warnings

amy_park's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Haunting and eye-opening to the recent history of Sri Lanka. Going into this book I knew nothing about this country but throughout the narration from a young woman aspiring to be a doctor, we follow her over two decades exploring the real life effects of civil war. This book was very dark and full of grief, witt a powerful punch. I enjoyed the writing style and narration of the young woman throughout. Depiction of grief at the start of the book was so heartfelt, but as the book continues I felt the grief was skimmed across but this might be due to relentless loss the narrator experiences.
I read this via audio, I think the colloquial terminology and dialect was hard to follow at the start which made me a little distant, I did slightly struggle throughout but it did get better. I think on audio alone I would rate 3.5 stars but that was my personal experience.
At the moment I would like to see this shortlisted but I think it could be one of the books that might be in the middle for me as I continue reading the longlist.
That being said I would recommend.

Content Warnings

kirstym25's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Brotherless Night is a fantastic piece of historical fiction showcasing the impact of the Sri Lankan civil war on one young woman and her family. The book opens with 16 year old Sashi living at home with her parents and four brothers. Her oldest brother is studying to become a doctor and Sashi hopes to follow in his footsteps. Over the next decade we see the toll the conflict takes. One brother is killed in anti-Tamil violence and two others join the Tamil Tigers. The war pauses Sachi’s studies but she does eventually get to study medicine and ends up volunteering at a hospital controlled by the Tigers, treating both cadres and civilians. The book did a great job highlighting the complexities of the conflict and the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces, the Tamil Tigers (including against their own people) and the Indian peacekeeping forces. It also showed the way the conflict divided families. Sashi also becomes involved in efforts to accurately document the events of the war. The importance of this and the efforts made to verify the accuracy of all accounts was something I can’t recall seeing previously in the books I’ve read. I loved Sashi as a character, particularly the way she was constantly wrestling with her conscience, trying to ensure that the actions she took or didn’t take were right for her - not always an easy feat when she was surrounded by some very passionate and persuasive people. Definitely a book I’d recommend.

Content Warnings

More...