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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dark, visceral, and violent. A portrait of the descent into madness fueled by the suffering and death of war.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful and fascinating, but I really struggled with the way women exist in the novel. Which was clearly intentional on the authors behalf but did not make it easier to consume.
But a poetic and gory story of a Senegalese soldier for the French army going mad
But a poetic and gory story of a Senegalese soldier for the French army going mad
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
At Night All Blood Is Black is a disturbing and haunting portrayal of World War I, focusing on Senegalese soldiers recruited to fight for France. The protagonist struggles with the impossibility of mercy killing his brother and the lasting weight of PTSD and regret. The novel starts powerfully, though it becomes repetitive in the middle, ending ambiguously. Personally, I was deeply unsettled by the graphic details and the unsettling sexual metaphors used on the battlefield, which make the horrors of war all the more visceral.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A dark historical story set during WWI. A Senegalese soldier seeks revenge and absolution after failing to grant his friend’s last wish. As he continues on his path he teeters on the edge of madness.
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am giving this book a five stars not because I personally enjoyed it that much, but because I think it's brilliantly crafted. I found aspects of it uncomfortable to read, particularly the sexual parts which I found more uncomfortable than even the violence of war. At times I found the verbal tics of the main character a bit annoying, but it did add to the atmosphere of the book. Mostly I really appreciated the ending and the way the author interspersed past and present anecdotes between chapters. The author doesn't hold the reader's hand at all - you have to read the ending more than once to really grasp what's going on, and even then it's open to interpretation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War