Review of The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

It is 1947 and India, finally free after nearly two centuries of British rule, is being divided into two separate countries, India and Pakistan. Muslims will live in the new Pakistan, while Hindus, Sikhs and others will reside in India. The country is in turmoil and young Nisha, who has just turned 12, is trying to understand these new divisions based on religion, especially since her mother was Muslim and her father is Hindu. She writes letters to her mother, who died during childbirth, in her “night diary.” The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani, a 2019 Newbery Honor Book, explores Nisha's experiences as she tries to figure out her identity and what home means.

Image

Image of The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. Brady, K. (2018). [Cover image of The night diary]. Retrieved from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549250/the-night-diary-by-veera-hiranandani/9780735228528/

Evaluation

One of the strengths of The Night Diary is its format as an epistolary novel. Each night, Nisha writes in her new journal that the family cook, Kazi, gave her for her 12th birthday. Kazi tells Nisha that things are changing and that she is the one who needs write down her memories, as the adults will be too busy. Nisha decides to use her diary as a way to write letters to her dead mother, writing, “I want to make it real so you can imagine it. I want to remember what everyone says and does, and I won’t know the ending until I get there” (Hiranandani, 2018, p. 3). Nisha’s diary takes us from July 14, 1947, when India is on the brink of separating into two countries, through Partition on August 15 to the family’s journey to their new home in Jodhpur, finally ending on November 10, 1947. As readers, we travel alongside Nisha and can relate to her experiences as she records her thoughts and feelings.

In The Night Diary, the story is told completely from Nisha’s point of view, and this gives us a strong sense of Nisha’s voice. She is both strong and innocent and she sees Partition through the lens of a young girl who happens to be part Hindu and part Muslim. Nisha often remarks that she doesn’t understand why Partition is happening; in her town, the Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs lived peacefully together. It is only after Partition that violence breaks out everywhere. When the country splits into two, Nisha wryly notes, “So as of today, the ground I’m standing on is not India anymore…[but] this will always be my home, even if it’s called something else” (Hiranandani, 2018, pp. 90-91). Nisha sees what many adults can’t; that dividing people up by race or religion creates problems where there weren’t any before. Nisha’s perspective is unique; she is both Hindu and Muslim, and she sees things in a simple, uncomplicated way, without the baggage of the adult leaders. Nisha’s story provides a unique perspective of Partition.

Finally, the setting is key to the story. Set in 1947 India, this story could not take place anywhere else and the setting is essential to the story line. In Nisha’s hometown of Mirpur Khas, “everyone knows who is Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh by the clothes they wear or the names they have” (Hiranandani, 2018, p. 20). Everyone gets along and the different religions don’t matter, until the time of Partition. Then, the leaders make the decision to split India into two parts. Nisha and her family leave their home and their friends, traveling on foot and by train across the border. On their journey, the land is dry and dusty and you can almost feel the pain and thirst as Nisha’s family walks for miles and miles. When they finally reach the new India, Nisha describes Jodhpur as a “big, hot city. The only thing I like about it is that nobody is trying to kill us here and that many of the houses are painted a beautiful blue” (Hiranandani, 2018, p. 240). The setting, India in 1947, plays such an important role in the novel that it is almost a character itself.

Response

Before reading The Night Diary, I knew very little about Partition in India. I knew that India had been under British rule and that Partition was when India was separated into modern-day India and Pakistan, but beyond that, I knew very little. The novel, therefore, taught me a lot about this particular point in history. I found myself agreeing with Nisha’s father, who said that “Gandhi wants a united India, that we are all Indian no matter what faith we follow” (Hiranandani, 2018, p. 90). I firmly believe that instead of separating ourselves based on race or religion, we should all try to get along and be respectful of people’s different beliefs. It doesn’t make sense to separate people by religion, and Partition has effects that still reverberate today; people are currently fighting over the border area between the two countries. The novel addresses Partition in a way that shows the tensions between religious groups and made me very aware of the human cost of this particular struggle. Not only were people displaced from their homes, but Hiranandani (2018) notes that some one million people died during the conflict (p. 256). The Night Diary is a beautiful novel about that reminded me once again of the horrible effects of conflict and intolerance.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Night Diary by Veera Hirananadani. This epistolary novel is written as letters from a young girl to her dead mother. Nisha’s letters show her confusion over Partition and her search for home and identity. The novel allows the reader to experience Partition from the point of view of an innocent child, and Nisha’s voice is clear, unique, and strong. Throughout the novel, the setting is absolutely key to the story. Though Hiranandani’s story is about India in 1947, intolerance and religious persecution are issues that we still struggle with in 2019. The Night Diary is an excellent novel and I highly recommend it for ages 8-12. Students who enjoyed Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan or Refugee by Alan Gratz will find much to appreciate in The Night Diary. 4 stars.

Citations

Brady, K. (2018). [Cover image of The night diary]. Retrieved from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549250/the-night-diary-by-veera-hiranandani/9780735228528/

Gratz, A. (2017). Refugee. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Hiranandani, V. (2018). The night diary. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Khan, H. (2017). Amina’s voice. New York, NY: Salaam Reads.