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A review by danielles_reads
At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Thanks, I hate it.
I hate the repetition (the phrase “God’s truth” is mentioned 150 times in this 145 page book), I hate the constant comparisons to women’s sexual organs, I hate the senseless violence subjected to both men in the war and women who are not, I hate the random backstories, I hate the vague opaqueness, I hate the ending.
Yes, war is violent, but I’m tired of reading men’s war books. I thought this book would add a different perspective, since it’s about a Black man fighting in WWI for France, but it disgusted me even more than other war books I read from the typical white point of view.
The captain was disgusting and I don’t want to read about people who think the made-up concept of a state is more important than the lives of real people. The narrator was disgusting and I don’t want to read about someone who rapes women and talks about how moist their insides are. God’s truth. And somehow Alfa’s friend is alive and in his body because he really is a soul stealer. Okay. I know, I understand. Not.
This book made me mad. Do not recommend. I’m really annoyed it won awards. Fuck that.
The extra half star is the only recognition I will give for what I think Diop was trying to do with this book. I can see some of the themes he was going for, but I just didn’t enjoy this reading experience at all.
I hate the repetition (the phrase “God’s truth” is mentioned 150 times in this 145 page book), I hate the constant comparisons to women’s sexual organs, I hate the senseless violence subjected to both men in the war and women who are not, I hate the random backstories, I hate the vague opaqueness, I hate the ending.
Yes, war is violent, but I’m tired of reading men’s war books. I thought this book would add a different perspective, since it’s about a Black man fighting in WWI for France, but it disgusted me even more than other war books I read from the typical white point of view.
This book made me mad. Do not recommend. I’m really annoyed it won awards. Fuck that.
The extra half star is the only recognition I will give for what I think Diop was trying to do with this book. I can see some of the themes he was going for, but I just didn’t enjoy this reading experience at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Violence, and Rape