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Rakshabandhan 2020: Beautiful books that celebrate sibling love

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on - Aug 1, 2020, 23:09 IST

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Beautiful books that celebrate sibling love

Siblings can be a trouble, can be a menace, and honestly, sometimes extremely annoying. But there is one thing you cannot deny: you can't live without them. The bond between a brother and his sister is one of unadulterated love, trust and a deep understanding of each other's psyche. We may not display our love for our brother or sister as much, but we love them unconditionally. You can smack your brother anytime, anywhere you want but if someone else even begins to say something against them, you hate that person forever. Such is the crazy, bitter-sweet relationship between siblings.

Since ages, literature has been brilliantly portraying sibling relationships through various tales from across the world. Some are funny, some thrilling, while some are utterly heartbreaking. On the special occasion of Rakshabandhan, here are some wonderful books from literature that celebrate the beautiful thing called sibling love.

Image: Pexels

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The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

This trilogy by the Percy Jackson author brings Egyptian gods to the modern world. The heroes of the series are brother and sister, who have been raised apart and watching them look out for each other and grow closer is heartwarming. Despite constantly getting on each other's nerves and resenting how the other was raised, they grow to truly respect each other. Also, as their parents were different races and as both took on one parent more than the other, they don't resemble each other and it constantly annoys them when people don't seem to realise they're related.
Photo: rickriordan.com

3/18

'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

Though this book is a thriller set around a murder, it has a very supportive sibling relationship. Nick Dunne's wife goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary and he's the primary accused. He's under a lot of pressure from the police, his in-laws and the media. He moves in with his twin sister Margo and she's very supportive of him throughout all that he goes through. She belived in him and constantly stood by his side during this difficult time.
Photo: Broadway Books

4/18

'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott

Set at the time of the American Civil War, the book is about the March sisters' home life with their mother, while their father is away at war. The different personalities, dreams and dilemmas of the sisters feel very real as well as uplifting.
Image: Penguin Random House

5/18

Charlie and Lola picture books

These are delightful stories on the everyday life of small kids in the context of a warm, playful, and beautiful sibling relationship.
Image: BBC

6/18

'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S Lewis

One of the most endearing fantasy tales about siblings and fantastic creatures, C.S Lewis' first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series is a story of love, adventure, faith and loyalty among four orphaned kids during the World War.
Image: Disney

7/18

'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

This classic favourite, besides being a striking commentary against racism, also subtly underlines a beautiful relationship of two siblings with their father, Atticus Finch.
Image: Universal Pictures

8/18

'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult

A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, 'My Sister's Keeper' follows one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning parable for all time.
Image: Atria Books

9/18

'The Railway Children' by E. Nesbit

This beloved children's classic follows three siblings who are left to live near a railway station. Their days are filled with adventure and excitement, while they try to avert a horrible train disaster.
Image: Oxford University Press

10/18

'Everything I Never Told You' by Celeste Ng

A Chinese-American family faces a devastating predicament when Lydia, the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee, is found dead in a lake. Besides the hopeless efforts of the parents to move on, the book focuses wonderfully on Nathan and Hannah, Lydia's siblings, who observe the neighbourhood carefully and desperately try to find out who killed their beloved sister.
Image: Penguin Random House

11/18

'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy’s Man Booker-wining classic is a moving family saga, that is also a forbidden love story, and a spectacular political drama. The book follows the seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel who witness their world upended by the advent of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. Partly autobiographical, the book takes the twins through trials and tribulations of family lies and secrets, heartbreaks and triumphs.
Image: Penguin Random House

12/18

'A Series of Unfortunate Events' by Lemony Snicket

This children's book series is a weirdly dark yet funny story of three orphaned kids Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their parents' death in a mysterious fire, the kids are placed in the custody of the ghastly and outrageous Count Olaf, who want nothing but trouble for the kids and to inherit their large fortune. The stories follow the kids through countless adventures that take them closer to decoding the mystery that could solve their misery.
Image: Egmont Books Ltd

13/18

'Family Life' by Akhil Sharma

A beautiful story of eight-year-old Ajay and his older brother Birju, 'Family Life' is an intensely moving novel that depicts unadulterated sibling love. As days pass, among stunning narrative, Ajay and Birju eagerly wait for their plane tickets to arrive so they can fly across the world with their mother and join their father in America.
Image: Faber & Faber

14/18

'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyasi

Gyasi narrates a tale set in 18th century Ghana and talks about two half-sisters born in different villages, unaware of each other. Whereas one lives a content life marrying into a rich family of Englishmen, the other, by a turn of events, is imprisoned at the very castle her sister lives in, and ultimately sold into slavery. Heartbreaking and impactful, 'Homegoing' narrates the two lives parallelly, eventually leading up to their descendants through eight generations.
Image: Penguin Random House

15/18

'The Lowland' by Jhumpa Lahiri

A novel about two brothers in Kolkata -- Subhash and Udayan -- 'The Lowland' is a moving tale of family ties and sibling bonds. A novel about memories, Lahiri's novel explores Calcutta and the Naxalite movement through the eyes of two brothers and their experiences, told with heartfelt empathy on an epic canvas.
Image: Penguin Random House

16/18

'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie’s pathbreaking novel is told through the perspectives of multiple characters and their experience during the Biafran War. Twin sisters Olanna and Kainene are generally taken to be opposites at first, but as the novel progresses, we can see how similar they really are, and how connected they feel with each other.
Image: Knopf

17/18

'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins' epic dystopian saga follows the fearless Katniss Everdeen, who volunteered to save her sister Prim's life when the 12-year-old was reaped in the deadly public gaming arena, knows as The Hunger Games. Katniss would do anything for Prim, and the series explores beautifully the unending love the sisters share and how Katniss risks her own life and happiness only so Prim could live a peaceful life.
Image: Scholastic

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'Sister of My Heart' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Though this book is not about direct siblings, it follows the story of two doting cousins. Anju and Sudha are quite opposites -- the former being beautiful and softhearted, and the latter, smart and defiant. But since the day they were born, Anju and Sudha have bonded in a way their parents could never understand. A heartwarming tale of love, sisterhood and secrets, 'Sister of My Heart' narrates a beautiful story of two sisters, who drift apart due to certain social compulsions, but find their way to each other through sheer courage, determination, and solidarity.
Image: Penguin Random House

Top Comment

Harish Yadav

2135 days ago

these are real facts feeling good to read this article

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