A review by chuckstafer
At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Meh. 

This story is one of loss for sure, but I think more than anything it's of a soldier slowly losing his mind after the death of his friend when he failed to live up to what he felt he should have done for his friend. I think I understand what happened at the end of this novella, but it got a little lost in the shuffle with the constant flashbacks going on towards the midpoint of the story. 

I will say, since this was my first time reading a novel from a Senegalese writer, some of the terminology and phrases he used during the story were strange to me and it took a bit to get used to the flow of the story and how he wrote it. 

Not a bad novella or anything, but certainly more physiological horror than physical horror and a bit different than that I thought I was getting into.