In the western world, World War I is viewed mainly in the lens of Europe. In Canada, it’s taught with a nationalist perspective that reinforces an us versus them narrative that attempts to draw parallels to World War II. In practice, this is not entirely true. The war had fronts outside of Europe, and even the notion that the European front was fought entirely by white soldiers was wrong. Europe’s colonies fed streams of soldiers to their war fronts.
At Night All Blood is Black is about a Senegalese soldier, Alfa Ndiaye, in France’s war front. The Senegalese contribution to the war is deeply unequal. It’s cruel, inhumane, and reflective of colonial attitudes of the time. Alfa and his division are expected to be violent savages, but only selectively violent during trench runs.
The main driver of the novel happens in its opening act. Mademba Diop, Alfa’s friend, dies in no man’s land. Alfa refuses to mercy kill him to spare him some suffering. From here, Alfa makes a habit of venturing into German trenches, killing a soldier, and chopping his hand off. This is reminiscent of the exact violence European colonisers enacted on Africans (particularly in the Congo). This act is initially praised by his French commanders, before they judge it excessive. Perhaps some colonial hypocrisy.
World War I was largely an imperial war where rulers sent poor people to fight each other and die. It was not a war with an unambiguous good or bad side, and this is largely reflected in the characters. Alfa’s an ambiguous character morally, and he’s not fighting for a morally good force. The author draws comparisons between Alfa’s enemies and his own allies — it is but a quirk of circumstance that people ended up on either side. Indeed, being an imperial war is largely violence for violence’s sake, just as Alfa’s habit of chopping hands off is largely again violence for violence’s sake.
Alfa’s insanity is advanced primarily by the writing. There’s at first a physical response to his trauma (in the hand chopping) and then a mental one (when he’s removed from the frontlines) when his mind finally breaks. To be able to write this in is a supreme achievement on the part of the author. Probably no way to fairly describe it.
3.5/5
Written 1 January 2025
Adapted from my review on Goodreads.
Notes:
- colonialism
- Alfa and his division are expected to be violent
- but only selectively violent b/c Alfa no longer receives the same praise — colonial contradiction
- when the soldiers try to defy their commander, he essentially sends them to their death
- Alfa’s defiance is perhaps rewarded because the French war effort rewards blind violence
- the French viewed the African soldiers as inherently more crude
- war
- WWI was a war with no clear victors
- it was an imperial war where the imperial rulers sent poor people to fight each other and die
- reflected in the characters — Alfa is an ambiguous character. he’s not fighting for a morally good force
- even the Germans he was fighting and chopping the hands off are not particularly distinct from the people he fights with
- it is violence for violence’s sake. just as Alfa’s habit of chopping hands off is largely just violence for violence’s sake
- insanity
- mainly advanced by the writing
- pretty good discussion here
- Alfa basically loses his mind and the writing reflects it
- with a physical response to his trauma, then a mental response when he’s taken away from the frontline, his mind finally breaks
- masculinity
- trenches are described fairly strangely with feminine descriptors
- as if they are spaces that protect the soldiers
- masculine control — major events happen to both Alfa (Mademba’s death) and his father (Alfa’s mother’s departure)
- Mademba as a foil — Alfa describes himself as inherently more masculine but he ends up driving most of Alfa’s actions in the end