Ganeshananthan’s novel on Tamil war wins prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction
V V Ganeshananthan, an American writer of Sri Lankan origin, was awarded the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel ‘Brotherless Night’, a novel on Sri Lankan civil war, at a public ceremony at Bedford Square Gardens in London on Thursday.
Published in 2023, the novel is about Shashi, a Sri Lankan Tamil teenager who dreams of becoming a doctor. However, her plans are disrupted when her 4 brothers are caught in the coils of Sri Lankan Civil war. Befriended by a medical professor while working in a field hospital for wounded Tigers, she goes on a dangerous journey to document the atrocities committed during the conflict. “ ‘Brotherless Night’ vividly and compassionately centres itself around erased and marginalised stories – Tamil women, students, teachers, ordinary civilians – exploring the moral nuances of violence and terrorism against a backdrop of oppression and exile”, reads the prize citation for Ganeshananthan’s work by the awarding committee.
‘Love Marriage’, Ganeshananthan’s debut novel was named the best book of 2008 by the Washington Post. A graduate of Harvard College, she did her MA in arts and culture journalism at Columbia University. She was a Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow in fiction at the American Academy in Berlin in 2017, where she started working on ‘Brotherless Night’, her second novel. She drew on a decade of her research on the Sinhala-Tamil war, spearheaded by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As a member of the Sri Lankan diaspora, she relied on her experiences as well to write the novel. A fruit of 20 years relentless struggle, ‘Brotherless Night’ was selected winner among four other novels which were shortlisted for the award.
One of Britain's most prestigious literary honors, the Women's Prize for Fiction is conferred on a female author of any nationality for the best original novel in English published in United Kingdom. The Women's Prize Trust which gives the award started the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction this year. The maiden award was granted to the Canadian activist-writer Naomi Klein for 'Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World', a book on the absurdities and dangers of social media.
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Allen, Raghuvanshi, Green power KKR to 29-run win over GT
Kolkata (PTI): Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match here on Saturday.
Sent in to bat, Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi (82).
Raghuvanshi then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR to a challenging 247 for 2.
In reply, GT could manage 218-4, riding on skipper Shubman Gill's 49-ball 85 and a 35-ball 57 from Jos Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out.
Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For GT, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers.
Brief Score:
KKR: 247 for 2 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 93, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 82 not out, Camero Green 52 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1/50).
GT: 218 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Sunil Narine 2/29).
