Abel Moeaki

Abel Moeaki is perhaps Ariddia’s most famous writer. He is the author of Daybreak (translated in French as: La Nuit Sans Lendemain), a novel depicting the tentative, ultimately doomed friendship of two soldiers on opposite sides during a ferocious war. The focus of the novel is on the lives of the soldiers, and of civilians affected by the hostilities; the war itself is perceived as a senseless blur, and Moeaki deliberately refrains from elaborating on who the enemy nations are or why they are fighting. The implication is that the who and why of those who started the war are of no great importance, and should not distract from the horrific realities of the war itself. The novel conveys a sense of helpless anger at the futility of what the protagonists are subjected to.

Daybreak was later adapted into a film, adding the power of visual medium to the deeply moving, shocking and disturbing qualities of the novel. It remains one of the few Ariddian films to have met with significant critical and public acclaim abroad.

Moeaki is a Professor of Literature at Haven University.