The Last Brother

In The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah, 1944 is coming to a close and nine year old Raj is unaware of the war devastating the rest of the world He lives in Mauritius, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, where survival is a daily struggle for his family When a brutal beating lands Raj in the hospital of the prison camp where his father is a guard, he meets a mysterious boy his own age David is a refugee, one of a group of Jewish exiles whose harrowing journey took them from Nazi occupied Europe to Palestine, where they were refused entry and sent on to indefinite detainment in Mauritius.A massive storm on the island leads to a breach of security at the camp, and David escapes, with Raj s help After a few days spent hiding from Raj s cruel father, the two young boys flee into the forest Danger, hunger, and malaria turn what at first seems like an adventure to Raj into an increasingly desperate mission.This unforgettable and deeply moving novel sheds light on a fascinating and unexplored corner of World War II history, and establishes Nathacha Appanah as a significant international voice. Read The Last Brother By Nathacha Appanah – kino-fada.fr Description In the remote forests of Madagascar, young Raj is almost oblivious of the Second World War raging beyond his tiny exotic island With only his mother for company while his father works as a prison guard, solitary ever since his brothers died years ago, Raj thinks only of making friends One day, the far away world comes to Madagascar, and Raj meets David, a Jew exiled from his home in Europe and imprisoned in the camp where Raj s father works Dav...A story set during World War II on the island of Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean The story centers on a young boy from an impoverished family whose father is a sugar cane cutter In a flood due to a hurricane, he loses his older and younger brother The despondent family moves away from that tiny coastal town and his fathe...Several years ago, my husband and I took a trip to Israel During our first week there, while we were in Jerusalem, we were ignorant of the fact that during the Sabbath everything closed down This included public transportation, which we used, shops and restaurants Had we known, we would have prepared a little picnic for ourselves to stave off our hunger There we were, hungry and without a clue of where we could find a meal So we set off walking through dark, unfamiliar streets Finally, aft Several years ago, my husband and I took a tr...This is a story as old as the hills the discovery and loss of a soul mate in a world gone awry told with lyricism, poignancy, and sensuousness by a French Mauritian author who is at the top of her craft.Whose story is it Certainly, it s the story of two little kings, Raj and David, as reflected from the 70 year old memory of Raj, the survivor The title The Last Brother has dual meaning Raj is, indeed, the last brother of three he lost his younger and older brothers in the midst of an This is a story as old as the hills the discovery and loss of a soul mate in a world gone awry tol...First of all, I enjoyed the unusual setting of this novel Mauritius I knew it was an island off the coast of Africa, but not much else Found out it was the home of the now extinct dodo Much of this story takes place in the northern section of the island Though the book is adult, the story is told from the point of view of Raj, a young boy, or, I should say, Raj as an old man looking back on that time The story is set in 1944, and is based on a true event concerning Jews who were interned o First of all, I enjoyed the unusual setting of this novel Mauritius I knew it was an island off the coast of Africa, but not much else Found out it was the home of the now extinct dodo Much of this story takes place in the northern section of the island Though the book is adult, the story is told from the point of view of Raj, a young boy, or, I should say, Raj as an old man looking back on that time The story is set in 1944, and is based on a true event concerning Jews who were interned on the island After Raj s brothers die in a terrible flash flood, his father gets a job as a guard at the camp where the Jews are being held There Raj befriends a Jewish boy, David, and even helps him escape The story takes on a rather surreal quality here Raj knows nothing about World War II or the Holocaust, so he has no idea of the danger he and David are in as they play in the jungle, while the reader is holding his breath, knowing it can t end well but hoping somehow that i...I would have liked him to tell his story himself in his own words and with the things that he alone could see This novel was inspired by the story of 1,584 Jews who fled Europe, were refused entry to Palestine then under British rule and were subsequently imprisoned on Mauritius from December 1940 until the end of World War II, in 1945 It recounts a heartfelt friendship between two boys David, a one of the imprisoned Jews who is an orphan, and Raj, a Mauritian of Indian heritage who is gri I would h...Giving this book two stars is a bit misleading Two stars is supposed to indicate that you thought the book was just ok I thought this book was awful, which should have earned it one star However, I m giving it two stars as a way of acknowledging that, perhaps, something was lost in the translating So, I give one star for the author of this awful book, and one star for the translator of this awful book The voice of this story is supposed to be that of a 70 year old man retelling the story o Giving ...Factually speaking, this is one of the shortest books I ve read a mere 165 pages but that s extraordinarily deceptive The bookthan makes up for its lack of length it s packed with intensity, it s unforgettable, it s heartbreaking The setting is Mauritius, the timing World War II and nine year old Raj is one of three brothers living on the island struggling to eke out a living with his parents His father works at the local prison a prison that Raj discovers, houses hundreds of Jew Factually speaking, this is one of the shortest books I ve read a mere 165 pages but that s extraordinarily deceptive The bookthan makes up for its lack of length it s packed with intensity, it s unforgettable, it s heartbreaking The setting is Mauritius, the timing World War II and nine year old Raj is one of three brothers living on the island struggling to eke out a living with his parents His father works at the local prison a prison that Raj discovers, houses hundreds of Jewish prisoners, one of them being 10 year old David But where did the white prisoners come from, people who looked different from him like David, whose... David My name means King Raj thinking angrilySo does mine Two boys befriend each other standing on opposite sides of a barbwire fence David, the Jewish boy is put in prison camp in Mauritius while Raj, a local boy, is son of a prison worker Their friendship stems from alienation, loneliness and the ability that only children seem to hav...Ok, maybe it s a 2 1 2, I ll still be in need of a flame retardant suit, as I was apparently less impressed than most readers Maybe I just wasn t in the right frame of mind when I read it, although I was looking forward to it after reading about it, and I ve certainly enjoyed other similarly sad books about the cruelty that people can inflict upon others.So, while this brings to light a largely unknown to me, for sure small chapter in the huge book of wrongs brought about by the Nazis and ex Ok, maybe it s a 2 1 2, I ll still be in need of a flame retardant suit, as I was apparently less impressed than most readers Maybe I just wasn t in the right frame of mind when I read it, although I was looking forward to it after reading about it, and I ve certainly enjoyed other similarly sad books about the cruelty that people can inflict upon others.So, while this brings to light a largely unknown to me, for sure small chapter in the huge book of wrongs brought about by the Nazis and exacerbated by the Allies , it otherwise seemed too maudlin, too trite anyone else think of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Could be a screenplay for a Spielberg film think Schindler, Privat...

• English
• 18 January 2018
Nathacha Appanah
• Paperback
• 165 pages
• 1555975755
• Nathacha Appanah
• The Last Brother