Hello, all book club friends.
We really hope all will be well and we can gather freely to discuss the book of the month.
At Night All Blood is Black
This slim volume is a novel by French author David Diop. First published in French in 2018 it won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens that same year. The English translation by Anna Moschovakis won the 2021 International Booker Prize.
The Guardian describes it as, "a brilliant, shifting tale of a Senegalese soldier’s descent into madness."
This occurs because of the death of his childhood friend, Mademba Diop, “my more-than-brother”, who dies alongside him on the battlefield. It is a confronting and highly unusual book that should be read twice to reveal its power. The final word goes to The Guardian again ;
"If the measure of a book’s success is to be quite unlike anything else, then At Night All Blood Is Black deserves the bouquets and trumpets after all."
Also, if you are interested in following up on the Non-Fiction Book Club with Kerry Waterworth (to meet every two months), then please come along on the first Wednesday of the month (6th October at 5.30 pm.) Kerry will introduce her first choice (Richard Dawkins: Books Do Furnish a Life and discuss her lifelong love of non-fiction writing.
We have notified the Wanaka Library so they will make sure some copies of each book are available. We have plenty of copies of the books in the shop too.
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