At Night All Blood is Black : WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2021 by David Diop

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop is set among Senegalese soldiers fighting in the Great War. This is a work of fiction described as a rendering of a mind moving towards madness.

Key details

• Author: David Diop
• International Booker Prize winner (2021)
• Set during the Great War
• Features Senegalese soldiers fighting for France

Synopsis

Alfa and Mademba fight side by side as Senegalese soldiers, repeatedly leaving their trenches to attack France’s German enemies when the whistle sounds. When Mademba is wounded and dies in a shell hole, Alfa is left isolated and disoriented amid the brutality of the conflict.

Alone without the man he calls more-than-brother, Alfa throws himself into war, violence and death, and begins to unsettle even his own comrades. As he struggles with grief and guilt, the question becomes how far he will go in an attempt to make amends to his dead friend.