Reviews tagging 'Grief'

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

37 reviews

ghost_rider's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, War, Death, Gore, Rape, and Body horror

Minor: Excrement

amselot's review

challenging dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, War, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Death of parent

emilia_digi's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Racism

chichio's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“God’s truth, that’s how things go, that’s how the world is: each thing is double.”

Jesus Christ. This was such a searing experience. I couldn’t put the book down…I literally read it all in one sitting. 

This book takes on large themes despite it being such a quick read. In this narrative, Diop speaks on race, war, toxic masculinity, and the way these three things aggravate one another, coming together to create a complex discussion on humanity, and the loss thereof. 

It’s a dark, unbelievably bleak read, yet it’s still poetic and beautifully literary—I found myself highlighting a lot of lines. The character voice in this is so strong and disturbing; Diop drags you into the mind of our protagonist, Alfa, and forces you to accompany him during his descent into madness. In the latter half of the book, as Alfa grows narcissistic, you begin to sense that he’s not just an unreliable narrator, but also an unbelievably unlikeable one, worn down into something ugly by grief and guilt. 

The prose is filled with repetition. Repetition of phrases, themes, and metaphors, but it works. It works. They perfectly highlight Alfa’s mental state, and the nonlinear narrative confuses you and forces you to keep up with him as his mind bounces between the past and the present, reality and delusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Grief, Classism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Xenophobia, War, Death, and Sexual assault

jaimeeslitlife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, War, Blood, Death, Grief, Violence, and Torture

kaitlyng's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, War, Sexual content, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Mental illness, Colonisation, Grief, Cannibalism, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, and Kidnapping

Minor: Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexism

my_plant_library's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Grief

ncghammo's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and War

hannahdavey's review

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, War, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Gore, and Grief

lanid's review against another edition

dark sad tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Body horror, Violence, War, Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder