One of the reasons that I am drawn to Historical Fiction is that somehow, authors take events that only comprised one or two sentences in my history books and maybe weren’t even covered by a teacher or professor and give them life. They create characters that lived through these situations and through that I experience a part of history that I never knew existed.
This is exactly what Veera Hiranandani does in The Night Diary. I may have heard about India’s freedom from British rule and the ensuing split of the country into two countries in World History. I vaguely remember conversations about Gandhi and his hope that his homeland would choose to remain whole . But it didn’t truly make an impact on my world view until I read this book. I cannot imagine invisible lines being drawn overnight and how those ramifications could wreak havoc one people’s lives. This story touched my heart and reminded me why literature is so important for me and also my students.
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.
Kokila
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.
Told through Nisha’s letters to her mother, The Night Diary is a heartfelt story of one girl’s search for home, for her own identity…and for a hopeful future.
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