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‘ god‘s truth, the mad fear nothing … you‘d have to be mad to obey captain armand when he whistles for the attack, knowing there‘s almost no chance you‘ll come home alive‘ 5/5

The tagged book is so dark I just can‘t read it now. But needing a book for #Senegal for #readingafrica2022 I found a book called Travels in Senegal, which I will need to add to the Litsy database. In the meantime, here‘s a map of Senegal from the book. And “bailing, not bailing” on the tagged book for now. @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

This was intense. A short novella about a Senegalese soldier in WW1. 145 pages of brutal madness and a backstory that unfolds like a fable. The original French title means "Soul Brother", or "Brother of the Soul", and is the key element of the story, but the English title is fitting as well (and definitely catchy).

I‘m struggling to read this book because I can‘t read it during my normal reading times. I can‘t read it when I‘m eating because…gross. I can‘t read it at night because…nightmares. Posting this, I just realized the significance of the artwork on the cover. Ewww. So it‘ll get read in bits and pieces. #Senegal #readingafrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

My next ebook. #Senegal #readingafrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

God‘s Truth, Dion Graham is my favorite male narrator. ☺️
This was an eloquent story of savagery, madness, war, violence and the depth of trauma soldiers face in both the trenches and for our narrator on his own land as well. A solider from #senegal recounts his days growing up & then fighting the enemy during WWI. My August #BookSpin #ReadingAfrica22

"I believe I understand that what's written on high is only a copy of what man writes here below. God's truth, I believe that God always lags behind us. It's all he can do to assess the damage."

Powerful read.

"To translate is never simple. To translate is to betray at the borders, it's to cheat, it's to trade one sentence for an other. To translate is one of the only human activities in which one is required to lie about the details to convey the truth at large. "

Temporary madness, in war, is bravery's sister.

Huh, I‘m surprised that I have mixed feelings. Some phrases were repeated too much as other readers have noted and I guess I thought the brutality was overdone to some extent. The second half of it was more interesting than the first half for me. A pick but I won‘t be rushing out to press this into anyone else‘s hands.

What a powerful account of World War I and it‘s affect on black soldiers from Senegal fighting for France. The account is gruesome but so raw and real. For this young man, he will not recover from the atrocities faced in war. Amazing book!

Mix feelings with this Novella. It is brutal, visceral in how it explains the descend to madness of this Senegalese soldier as a result of war. Even when it is so graphic in these grotesque descriptions, it was beautifully written. Love the writing style. However, I found some parts too repetitive in a novel that only has 145 pages. I also found some parts maybe disconnected, didn‘t like how female body was used to compare some actions. 3.8⭐️

Definitely a heavy, brutal read/listen. Dion Graham did a great job as usual narrating, but I think this deserves a re-read in physical format. The MC descends into madness after refusing his best friend a mercy killing during war. Consumed with guilt, Alfa turns into a monster on the battlefield in an attempt to both avenge his friend‘s death and as penance for allowing his friend to die so painfully.

This short, brutal book packs a punch, following a man from #Senegal as he fights in WWI, then jumping back to his younger days at home. Overall, I liked the story, but at some point in the book, the author uses repetition, repeating the phrase “God‘s truth” so many times that‘s all I could hear. So that dropped it down to a soft pick for me. The upside of the audio? Dion Graham. 😍

#ReadingAfrica2022

This book was horrifying but not gratuitously so. It really brought to life the descent into madness of a young Senegalese soldier fighting for France in WWI. I‘m not sure how to describe it, but I know I won‘t soon forget this short novel. #ReadingAfrica Senegal

Book that #BeginsWith #Black Day 26. Can‘t wait to read this for our #DecolonizeBookshelves2022 reading theme.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This novella was brutal and intense. It's about how a man coped with colonial exploitation during World War I and the trauma of violent loss and suffering. I felt for Alfa and liked him in spite of the fact that he collected human hands as a coping mechanism. I appreciated how candid he was with his thoughts. This was a side of WWI I don't often see portrayed. I thought it was excellent.

When #Senegal was a French colony local soldiers were recruited to fight for France during WWI. This book shows what war can do to people and how it affects them. A little book but it packs a punch.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇸🇳 #52books Main character POC #pop22 A book featuring a man-made disaster #19822022

(Pic: French Alps)

Wow! This was a lot of book in a small package, and it‘s hard to even write about. At its heart it‘s a story about the ugliness of war and the damaging effects of racism. But honestly that description doesn‘t do it justice, and you should just read it for yourself.

In a terrible year, #May was the hardest month with the passing of my father. There were very few things that helped me through this period & books were definitely not the least of them. Pictured are the 3 standouts I read in May. All different, yet all memorable & ones that I have recommended to numerous people since I first encountered them. #12Booksof2021 @andrew65

Typical - as soon as I order my physical book for #Senegal the Kindle book comes on sale!

#ReadingAfrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB #ukkindledeal

This was one of the darkest and best books I‘ve read in awhile. It‘s a descent into a violent madness, but so beautifully written. The violence isn‘t gratuitous, and only serves the purpose of offsetting the eloquence of the author‘s ability to describe the main character‘s grip of reality. It‘s good, but it‘s so dark.

This book is written with beautiful imagery: “The rumor spread. It spread, and as it spread it shed its clothes and, eventually, its shame. Well dressed at the beginning, well appointed at the beginning, well outfitted, well medaled, the brazen rumor ended up with her legs spread, her ass in the air“ (33).

Great finds at the library today!

Library pick up!

I saw this at the bookstore but decided to see if the library had it. They did!

I debated in which language to read this one for a long time. The original is French, but the English translation won the international Booker prize this year. In the end the Dutch translation was on display in the library and I ended up taking that one home.

It's short but powerful. There's some rather disturbing imagery in there. Nothing gratuitous, I personally felt, it fits the story and subject matter. But still, it packs a punch.

3.5 pick with reservations. This book is not for just anyone. TW for brutal murders, deaths, war, rape, dismemberment, and probably a few I am missing.
This is a dark look at war and loss and what that can do to mental health. The writing is exceptional, with a repetitive tool that bring depth to a slim read.
I had never heard about how France used Senegal soldiers in WWI and I am down a rabbit hole about have "volunteer" their service was. ??

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

"...I know, I understand, I shouldn't have done it."

Powerful slim read. Lots of TW.

Stunning, profound novel about war and mental trauma. Told in a confessional style & tightly written, it reminded me a little of Camus‘ The Fall. Compelling & well paced as we see Alfa‘s grief & violence at war, memories of Senegalese childhood & how he loses his mind. Intense but the writing flows easily & it‘s beautifully translated. The ending packs a punch - I had to re-read the last chapters. I‘m still not sure what happened.

Well, my TBR just went up.

https://bookriot.com/barack-obamas-summer-reading-list/

Winner of the International Booker Award. Poetic dense rhythmic writting. This is a historical novel that I would love to study. 3.5 🌟

A short impactful read about the expendability of colonial soldiers. A wonderful paragraph on p47 talks about when madness in a soldier is encouraged vs when it‘s taboo. The author repeats certain phrases to great effect, it bought the madness of it all to the forefront. Some of the content makes you realize just how young these soldiers are when we send them off to the front. One day a child, the next they begin their descent into madness

I was able to watch the announcement of the Booker International while at work & this thumbnail was literally me. Minus the suit. And bookcases. This is a fun reaction video for anyone who is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqdsOdnTA3U

A massive congrats to David Diop & his translator Anna Moschovakis: winners of Man Booker International 🎉👏🎊📚 Although I have only read half of the shortlist, this powerful work was not only my favorite of the shortlist but a fave of the year.

A visceral, gritty, war story which is incredibly hard to review. At Night All Blood is Black is on its surface, about violence, and the ways that war moves people to violence, at times beyond of the scope of survival instinct and self-preservation. If you scratch a little deeper, it also tells a story about colonialism and the many ways that colonised lives are exploited. Stylistically I found this translation both interesting and challenging.

At first I wasn‘t sure about the ending of this short brutal book. But I can‘t stop thinking about it.

Diop's second novel, shortlisted for the MB International, is about Alfa Ndiaye. A Senegalese recruited by France in the devastating & relentless trench warfare of WWI. At the very beginning of the novel (with one of the most memorable titles in recent memory), Alfa is holding his best friend in his arms as he begs him to end his life so he doesn't die in prolonged agony. Although he knows that his friend's life can't be👇

Oof.

Back to the #InternationalBookerPrize2021 with this harrowing short read. Two young Senegalese men, ‘more-than-brothers‘, soldiers, serving with the motherland France, in the trenches of WWI. When Mademba dies horribly, Alfa‘s guilt and trauma change him, allow him to think the unthinkable, do the unspeakable.

There‘s so much in here. From the expectations on soldiers from the colonies (‘savages‘)

The narrator of the story is young Senegalese, Alfa Ndiaye, fighting in the trenches of WWI on behalf of France. Alfa has watched how his best friend dyed on the battlefield, and for Alfa that changed everything. Combining brutality of war and the question of colonialism/racism, this short novel brings very powerful and unforgettable image of a man losing his mind. #InternationalBookerPrize2021