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The Night Diary

Veera Hiranandani

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Jan 15, 2020 Nick rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction-juvenile, juvenile-fiction

The only thing that put me off about this juvenile novel was the summary here on Goodreads, referring to the children as half-Muslim, half-Hindu. Well, no, that's not really the case, unless you weirdly assume that religion is genetically imprinted. So, it took me a few tries to start reading the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down
The main character and her twin brother are the children of a Hindu father, who has raised them, and a Muslim mother, who died at their birth. The family, whi The only thing that put me off about this juvenile novel was the summary here on Goodreads, referring to the children as half-Muslim, half-Hindu. Well, no, that's not really the case, unless you weirdly assume that religion is genetically imprinted. So, it took me a few tries to start reading the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down
The main character and her twin brother are the children of a Hindu father, who has raised them, and a Muslim mother, who died at their birth. The family, which now includes the paternal grandmother, also has a Muslim servant, which the father, a doctor, can easily afford to have.
The story takes place in 1947, when India was broken up to create Pakistan as a homeland for the Muslims of India, but at the cost of displacing the Hindu and Sikh residents of what was to become the new nation of Pakistan. This division was opposed by Gandhi, but he was no longer the leader of India, as it was finally freed from British rule, so things got complicated. The horrific violence, on all sides, as refugees crossed the new borders in both directions, was appalling. Friendships and organizations were torn apart as millions of people moved, and over a million died in the violence or in the turmoil of the sudden move.
Told in the form of letters to her late mother from the main character, Nisha, the book's structure causes the reader to feel like they're looking over her shoulder at events. They are not presented directly, but through what she remembers and chooses to emphasize. That kept me from giving the book a fifth star, because it serves to distance the reader from the events. While that might help make them less jarring for younger readers, I don't know if that's a good idea. The deaths of a million people really SHOULD be jarring, and is already distanced by time.
Still, it is an excellent book about the turmoil caused by the division of India, and how a time of what should be celebration got turned into a time of trouble, violence, and mourning.
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Aug 10, 2018 Trish (readtmc) marked it as to-read

Mar 10, 2018 Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, mg, culturally-diverse, 2018-read-in, 2018-challenge-titles

Mar 20, 2018 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Jul 26, 2018 Jennette Neville marked it as to-read

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