The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
Release: March 6th 2018
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Dial Books
Source: Amazon
The Night Diary Synopsis:
It’s 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.
Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn’t know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it’s too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can’t imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.
Review:
I loved the concept of “The Night Diary”! Veera Hiranandani has done a wonderful job in portraying how the Indian Independence affected the lifestyles of an average family. She realistically depicts the hardships that someone would have faced to move from Pakistan to India during this period. When we read about our leaders in history books, we read only of their struggles faced prior to independence. However, this book opened my eyes to show how Nehru and Gandhi also faced a lot of issues post-independence. An example being this mass movement between the Hindus and the Muslims with the split of India and Pakistan.
I loved the way the author writes the story through Nisha’s diary entries during the time of Independence. It made the book feel more personal and felt like I was with them during their journey. There are some very gripping scenes that I don’t think I would ever forget. Some of these are:
- When Nisha and her family get on the train and start seeing people killing each other.
- The time a stranger seizes Nisha and threatens to kill her
- When Nisha experiences how hostile some of the students in school are to her and Amil
However, there are two aspects that disappointed me. The first was the pacing. I found the first half of the book to be a bit dragging and slow. Nothing really happens except for Nisha and Amil going on about their daily activities with their Papa, Dadi and Kazi. Nisha repeatedly talks about her mother, her brother’s lack in schoolwork, and cooking with Kazi. The story gets interesting only when they start moving towards their new destination, which is around halfway into the book. From then on, the story kept me on my toes and I kept wondering what was going to happen next.
Secondly, I found Nisha’s character to be annoying after a while. I hoped that the girl would gain some courage during her adventure, especially after the traumatic incidents she faced. However, the whole journey seemed to make her more quiet and secluded. As Nisha admits, rather than making things better, she only gets into trouble for trying to be friends with Hafa. She decides to remain quiet when she is scolded at, and doesn’t show any positive change after the whole experience. I wish the author had portrayed her as a stronger character.
Also, there are some minor incidents that I wish the author had given some closure on. For instance, as Amil shows symptoms of being autistic, I wanted details on how their Papa dealt with the issue. Moreover, their uncle Rashid seemed like a very interesting character and I wished that there was more details about him and his bond with their mother.
Overall, I actually loved the Night Diary and it is an unforgettable book in many ways. If the pacing and the characters had been slightly better, I would have given it 5/5 stars. Nevertheless it is really good and worth reading!
