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At Night All Blood Is Black

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About this listen

SELECTED FOR BARACK OBAMA'S SUMMER READING LIST

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2021

A GUARDIAN and THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

Alfa and Mademba are two of the many Senegalese soldiers fighting in the Great War. Together they climb dutifully out of their trenches to attack France's German enemies whenever the whistle blows, until Mademba is wounded, and dies in a shell hole with his belly torn open.

Without his more-than-brother, Alfa is alone and lost amidst the savagery of the conflict. He devotes himself to the war, to violence and death, but soon begins to frighten even his own comrades in arms. How far will Alfa go to make amends to his dead friend?

At Night All Blood is Black is a hypnotic, heartbreaking rendering of a mind hurtling towards madness.

©2021 Pushkin Press (P)2021 Pushkin Press Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military War Emotionally Gripping Military

Critic reviews

This slight book is an extraordinarily powerful exploration of what happens to the souls of men sent to kill and be killed.
-- The Times, Historical Fiction Books of the Year

Extraordinary... full of sadness, rage and beauty.
-- Sarah Waters
All stars
Most relevant
Was totally drawn in an effected by this moving story. I think the narrator made it even more magical.

So beautifully narrated

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This book has been reviewed by professional reviewers all over the place who universally like it & I think they are right. However, one critique is that at the end it goes off the rails. I disagree, the descent into madness and the protagonists dissociation from reality conveyed in the writing is an apt resolution of the nightmare.

Not for the feint hearted but very powerful

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I absolutely loved listening to this book , I had tried to read it and actually the book came alive with the actors performance. Agonising and desperate war story , maybe too much to bear with the times as they are , but it is a remarkable book and worth every minute . I dont often leave reviews but feel compelled to with this book. its not too long and is like poetry..

Extraordinary Novel Brilliantly Read

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I listened because this was on Obama's list, and I'm glad I did. This story is about what warfare does to the mind, told through the eyes of our protagonist. Dion gives an amazing heartfelt performance, but the writing of the story felt a little repetitive. It might just sound more repetitive because I chose to listen rather than read, but the story felt a little abstract too. I want to praise this book for the imagery and the story of war and the relationships, but I wasn't especially attached to our lead character's thought process.

Beginning was slow but Dion Graham is a treasure

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Starts off brilliantly, really got into it. Unfortunately. For me the story loses its focus towards the latter half.

Hands!!!

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