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A review by sarah_cameron
At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This is a seriously heavy read. The catalyst of the story is the night over which a man spends with his childhood best friend in no man's land as he slowly dies from a lethal injury.
The narrative jumps back and forth along the MMC Alfa's life, from his childhood and his relationship with his mother and family, to the years before he left for war, to the trauma of losing his best friend and adopted brother Mademba, and how he responds to this.
The writing is very lyrical, and the translation feels more as if you are reading an extended piece of poetry. The way pieces of Alfa's life are slowly revealed, and how this changes your frame of reference to his thoughts and experiences is very clever.
I think parts of this book are valuable for everyone, but in saying that you definitely need to be in a space to dedicate yourself to this book and then to reflect upon it, given it's nature and content. It will leave you thinking about it for a long while after putting it down.
The narrative jumps back and forth along the MMC Alfa's life, from his childhood and his relationship with his mother and family, to the years before he left for war, to the trauma of losing his best friend and adopted brother Mademba, and how he responds to this.
The writing is very lyrical, and the translation feels more as if you are reading an extended piece of poetry. The way pieces of Alfa's life are slowly revealed, and how this changes your frame of reference to his thoughts and experiences is very clever.
I think parts of this book are valuable for everyone, but in saying that you definitely need to be in a space to dedicate yourself to this book and then to reflect upon it, given it's nature and content. It will leave you thinking about it for a long while after putting it down.