61 pages • 2-hour read
Brotherless Night
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of graphic violence, racism, and death.
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. What aspects of Sashi’s perspective on the Sri Lankan civil war most challenged or changed your understanding of people who live through extended conflicts?
2. The novel spans almost three decades of history, showing multiple phases of violence and fleeting periods of hope. Which moments in the story affected you most deeply?
3. How does Brotherless Night compare to other novels about civil wars such as Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost, which also explores the Sri Lankan conflict through the lens of human rights documentation?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. Sashi struggles with the concept of home throughout the novel, ultimately finding herself “safe and free and never home” in New York (306). What does home mean to you?
2. The novel portrays various responses to trauma through characters like Sashi, Aran, and Seelan. Which character’s coping mechanism resonated most with you and why?
3. When have your own family relationships been tested during periods of significant disagreement or crisis?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. Tamil serves as both cultural connection and political resistance in the novel. What role does language play in maintaining cultural identity in multicultural societies today?
2. Brotherless Night reveals how colonial policies contributed to ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka. What other examples of colonial legacies continue to affect contemporary conflicts in the world?
3. How has your understanding of the term “terrorist” evolved after reading Sashi’s nuanced exploration of this label in the novel?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. Sashi repeatedly says “You must understand” throughout the narrative (3). What effect did this direct address create?
2. The novel begins with Sashi writing a letter to a terrorist in 2009 before flashing back to 1981. How did this narrative structure affect your engagement with the story and themes?
3. How did the “Jaffna eyes” motif develop and evolve throughout the story?
4. How do personal objects—like Niranjan’s garnet earrings and the Pillaiyar chess piece—add weight to the themes of memory and loss?
5. Consider K’s transformation from promising medical student to hunger striker. How does his character arc resonate with the novel’s larger themes?
6. In what ways does Sashi’s development as a writer parallel her growth as a character throughout the novel?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. If you were writing a letter to one character from Brotherless Night, who would you choose and what would you say?
2. If you could help design a memorial for the unmarked No-Fire Zone that Sashi visits at the end of the novel, what elements would you include and why?
3. If someone were adapting Brotherless Night into a film, which scenes would be essential to include for capturing the heart of the story? Which scenes might not make the cut?
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