Nathacha Appanah's "The Last Brother" Quiz

Answer: Republic of Mauritius

She was born in 1973 in the Republic of Mauritius, in a traditional Indian family. In Mauritius she worked as a journalist. In 1998 she migrated to France and started her career as a novelist.

Answer: Republic of Mauritius

Beau-Bassin lies approximately 20 kilometers south of Port Louis, the capital city of the Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, and was a British possession until 1968, the year of its independence.

Answer: European Jewish refugees

The State Prison of Beau-Bassin became the house of more than 1500 European Jewish refugees, who tried to escape from Nazism by going to Palestine after the beginning of the Second World War. However, when they arrived in Haifa, they were turned away by the British immigration authorities and were deported to Mauritius because they didn't have the proper documents.

Answer: The friendship between two boys

The theme of the book is the friendship between two boys: Raj and David. Raj, who lived near the State Beau-Bassin Prison, was a son of a prison worker, and David was an orphan refugee. They were about nine years old.

Answer: Mapou

Raj's family used to live in Mapou, a village in the northern part of the country, where his father worked in a sugarcane plantation.

Answer: Because the family lost two children in an accident

When the family lived in Mapou they were five people: the father, the mother and three sons named Raj, Anil and Vinod. They used to live near a river where the boys used to swim and collect water for the family. But one day when they were by the river, a sudden storm flooded it and both Anil and Vinod were drowned. After their death, the family decided to move to Beau-Bassin.

Answer: They became friends in the prison hospital

Raj and David became friends in the prison hospital. Raj's father beat his son so severely that the boy had to be taken care of in the prison hospital where David was also being cared for.

Answer: He died

In 1945, a three-day cyclone devasted the island and a big riot happened in the prison. During the riot Raj helped David to escape from the prison and they decided to get away from Beau-Bassin. However, while they were escaping, David died and Raj was caught by the prison guards.

Answer: Raj

The history is told by Raj when he was 70 years old, remembering the misery of his family, the violence of his father, the death of his brothers and his adventure with David.

Answer: They could choose between going back to Europe or emigrating to Palestine

In 1945, at the end of Second World War, after four years of confinement, the refugees could choose between going back to their home in Europe or emigrating to Palestine. But 127 Jewish refugees died in the prison and were buried in Saint Martin Cemetery in the Jewish Section.