Brotherless Night

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024

WINNER OF THE CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION

'A heartbreaking exploration of a family fractured by civil war. This beautiful, nuanced novel follows a young doctor caught within conflicting ideologies as she tries to save lives. I couldn't put this book down' BRIT BENNETT, bestselling author of THE VANISHING HALF

Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war tears through her hometown of Jaffna, her dream takes her on a different path as she sees those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. Desperate to act, she must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm?

"With immense compassion and deep moral complexity, V. V. Ganeshananthan brings us an achingly moving portrait of individual and societal grief. "I want you to understand," the narrator of BROTHERLESS NIGHT insists, and by the end of this blazingly brilliant novel, we do: that in a world full of turmoil, human connections and shared stories can teach us how - and as importantly, why - to survive" CELESTE NG, bestselling author of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

"Stunningly great" Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of ROMANTIC COMEDY, via Twitter

'Ganeshananthan is a superb writer...I wept at many points in this novel and I also wept when it was over' Sunday Times

'An unforgettable account of a country and a family coming undone… Brotherless Night is a spectacular work of historical fiction: thoroughly researched, brimming with outrage and compassion, and full of indelible imagery' Guardian