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A review by joshbaird
At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The amount this author packs into such a short, one-sitting kind of novel is mindblowing. It's a thoroughly visceral, unsettling and upsetting look what war does to a person's brain, and it's beautifully written and translated. The language and repetition jarred me at first but I got used to it.
The only thing I would say is the last couple of chapters really lost me. I've scanned on here and reddit and found some takes that make sense to me, but on the first read I was a bit thrown. I guess that makes sense though, because 'thrown' is an understatement for the protagonist's mental state by the end of the book!
The only thing I would say is the last couple of chapters really lost me. I've scanned on here and reddit and found some takes that make sense to me, but on the first read I was a bit thrown. I guess that makes sense though, because 'thrown' is an understatement for the protagonist's mental state by the end of the book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence