Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Brotherless Night: A Novel

I loved this story. I feel guilty that I have never heard of this civil war in Sri Lanka or the plight of the Tamil people. It is a story of what happens when a minority group is treated as second-class citizens. It's similar to what's happening in Myanmar, Palestine, the Sudan, and many other places worldwide. This particular story focuses on women and their roles as civilians while being related to terrorists and resistance fighters. This book would be an excellent choice for a book club.

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eilatan6991's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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nadia's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This was a great book about a topic I've not read anything about prior. Emotional, tense, sad, and informative, it gives a unique portrayal of life in a time of a brutal civil war, exploring the tough choices people, especially women, have to make every single day. While I really liked the writing style and certain narrative techniques used, it also contributed to certain parts of the book not having as big of an emotional impact on me as I'd expect given the subject matter!

Current Women's Prize 2024 Fiction Shortlist rankings:

1. Brotherless Night
2. River East, River West
3. Soldier Sailor
4. Restless Dolly Maunder

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rei_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective 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? No

5.0

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lilyreads01's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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srilekha's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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baileyanabella's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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.

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nov_ella's review against another edition

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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

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