At Night All Blood Is Black

“The premise is that this soldier becomes very murderous at the Front, and starts doing things like cutting off hands in no-man’s-land and bringing them back. At first his white superiors are like: great, we need murderous soldiers. But the more he turns into a serial killer, the more uncomfortable his superiors get. It almost reads like a horror film. It’s very psychological. So it’s a very finely crafted book, beautifully woven together, and interesting from a genre perspective.” Read more...

The Best First World War Novels

Alice Winn, Novelist

“This book is frightening. Reading it, you feel you’re being hypnotised. Your emotions are set all a-jangle, and your mind is being opened up to new thoughts. It’s an extraordinary piece of writing—very powerful, very compelling. It’s a story about war, yes. But also a story about love. The author David Diop creates incantatory word music, and the translator Anna Moschovakis absolutely has managed to recreate it.” Read more...

The Best of World Literature: The 2021 International Booker Prize Shortlist

Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Biographer