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A review by karolinak
At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
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
4.0
Repetition is a big motif in this book. It clearly has a purpose. It illustrates the pointless nature of the countless wars we have fought and continue to fight. It shows the main character's state of mind after a traumatic event, how a thought, a memory, can find its way into your head an keep running in circles, torturing you, slowly driving you mad. Eventually it reveals a language barrier as well. It is no fun to read, however. I noticed it immediately, and about 20 pages in it started to grate on me pretty badly.
The violence is shocking. I actually had trouble reading some parts from the very begining so be aware, there is gore and horror awaiting.
There was some really really good stuff in here, some great commentary on war, violence and its effect on people, the expectation that soldiers should be able carry on as normal civilised citizens once the barbaric violence of battle ends, without proper support, which is just ludicrous. There's questions about what kind of violence and by whom is acceptable (what's worse, sevend hands of enemies or seven lives of comrades?), where does a line need to be drawn and who decides. And booooy is there madness.
Despite some the stylistic choises that dampened my enjoyment while reading this book I find myself impressed with the work overall.
The violence is shocking. I actually had trouble reading some parts from the very begining so be aware, there is gore and horror awaiting.
There was some really really good stuff in here, some great commentary on war, violence and its effect on people, the expectation that soldiers should be able carry on as normal civilised citizens once the barbaric violence of battle ends, without proper support, which is just ludicrous. There's questions about what kind of violence and by whom is acceptable (what's worse, sevend hands of enemies or seven lives of comrades?), where does a line need to be drawn and who decides. And booooy is there madness.
Despite some the stylistic choises that dampened my enjoyment while reading this book I find myself impressed with the work overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and War