Brotherless Night

A heartbreaking exploration of a family torn apart by civil war. This beautifully nuanced novel follows a young doctor caught in the midst of conflicting ideologies as she tries to save lives. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. However, over the next decade, as a brutal civil war engulfs Sri Lanka, her dream takes a different path as she watches the people around her, including her four beloved brothers and their best friend, get drawn into violent political ideologies and their consequences. She must ask herself: Is it possible to live without causing harm?

With immense compassion and deep moral complexity, V. V. Ganeshananthan presents us with a painfully moving portrait of individual and societal suffering. "I want you to understand," insists the narrator of Brotherless Night, and by the end of this brilliantly radiant novel, we do: In a world full of turmoil, human connections and shared stories can teach us how – and just as importantly, why – we survive.

“Stunningly great” – Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author. “A careful, vibrant exploration of what is lost within a community when life and thought collapse into a binary conflict... a novel for our own country in this strange time” – The New Yorker. “Ganeshananthan is an outstanding writer... I cried at many points in this novel, and I cried when it ended” – Sunday Times.