At Night All Blood is Black

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2021




A GUARDIAN and THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR




'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




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.