I do not know if I ought to be ashamed to say this, but this was how it was: I did not know there was a world war on that had lasted for four years and when David asked me at the hospital if I was Jewish I did not know what it meant. I said no, being under the vague impression that, because I was in the hospital, being Jewish referred to an illness. I had never heard of Germany, in reality I knew very little. In David I had found an unhoped-for friend, a gift from heaven, and at the start of this year of 1945 that was all that counted for me.
(from The Last Brother, page 64)
The Last Brother is a beautifully written, tragic novel of a little known aspect of World War II, the holding of Jews in the prison of Beau-Bassin on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Written by Nathacha Appanah and translated from the French by Geoffrey Strachan, The Last Brother is the story of Raj, who as an old man is thinking back to events that occurred in 1944 and 1945, when he was just 9 years old. His short life up until that point had been one of loss, poverty, and abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father. Without his brothers, the only goodness in his life is his mother, a woman who could not read or write but could turn plants and herbs into miracle cures.
Raj’s father works at the prison, and during a stay in the hospital there, Raj befriends a 10-year-old Jewish detainee, David. Despite the language barrier, they become inseparable, and for the first time since the loss of his brothers, Raj is happy. Raj takes advantage of a devastating cyclone to ensure that he and David remain together.
The Last Brother reads like poetry, and I’m convinced that nothing was lost in translation because the words just flow beautifully. Appanah pulls readers into the scene so that they can feel the dirt crusted on the skin of the villagers and the fear before the torrential rain that will soon become mudslides. They can feel the innocence of childhood friendship and the sorrow and guilt that Raj has carried with him for 60 years.
Appanah barely scratches the surface of the Holocaust, as Raj understandably has no idea that a war has been raging around the world. Readers will understand David’s story even when Raj doesn’t, and although David’s suffering is not talked about in the open, his story is still moving and heart-breaking. The Last Brother is a novel about innocence lost, how friendship can change our lives forever, and how stories can help us heal wounds that have festered for decades. This is a novel I expect will stay with me for some time and likely will make my “best of 2011” list.
Disclosure: I received a copy of The Last Brother from Graywolf Press. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
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Sounds like an excellent book, and published by one of my favorite indie presses! I think I’ll have to borrow this one…It sounds like it was right up your alley. I love when novels have a poetry-like quality to the prose.
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It was! I think with the lyrical prose, you’d really like it, too.
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Anna, I’m so glad you reviewed this. i just bought it last week and it sounds like i’m going to love it!
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I can’t wait to read your review! I hope you love it as much as I did.
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I was captivated by your review, Anna. So much so that I just put this book at the top of my To Buy list! Thanks for introducing me to this book; it sounds wonderful.
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My pleasure! I hope you love it as much as I did.
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It’s so great when a book is well translated. This book sounds wonderful.
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It truly was. I hope you give it a try.
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I LOVE when it feels like a book was written in English, rather than being translated into the language. Props to the translator 🙂
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I couldn’t agree more!
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I’ve been ill so I haven’t finished this book but I am loving it. It’s beautifully written and very touching! I really enjoyed your review and share your feelings about it.
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I hope you are feeling better now. I will check out your thoughts on the book.
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This sounds wonderful! Great review!
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Thanks!
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This sounds a wonderful book.
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It was, and I hope you get a chance to read it and discover its beauty for yourself. 🙂
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Love, love to read books that also teach me something about history. And to have one that’s so beautiful makes it one that I’m going to have to pick up soon.
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I can’t wait to read your thoughts on it!
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This sounds very, very good. I am amazed I hadn’t heard of it before.
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I believe it was released very recently. I hope you give it a try!
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I just read a review of a book about the WWII. This is interesting… is it that we are reflecting and afraid of it happening again? We must think.
Thanks Anna for this wonderful review. I loved it. You sustained my interest.
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My pleasure! I hope you have a chance to read this book. I just find WWII history fascinating, and I only hope that we can one day learn from past mistakes.
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Your review was fantastic and I love that this read like poetry and you felt that nothing was left out in the translation. I may have to pick this one up in the future!
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Thanks! I truly hope you have a chance to read it.
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This one is at the top of my TBR list. I hope you don’t mind if I add your review to the South Asian Review Database.
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[…] (WWII) 4. Small Wars by Sadie Jones (1956 war in Cyprus) 5. Strange Meeting by Susan Hill (WWI) 6. The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah (WWII) 7. How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston (WWI) 8. The Linen […]
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[…] The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah […]
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[…] ***I read this because of Anna’s glowing review at Diary of an Eccentric. […]
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[…] The Last Brother (Diary of an Eccentric) […]
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