The Shadow King (LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2020) (Lead title) Paperback – 20 September 2020

I am yet to read this one. This review is about the condition of the book. It arrived neat, and without any kind of crease on its cover. Perfect.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020, The Shadow King is not an easy read if you are looking for a breezy read. This one is multi layered and will put you through loops with its deep questioning of the power that comes from gender, class, race and what war does to people, the dehumanisation that comes from the quest for glory and making a name.Author Maaza Mengiste takes readers to unfamiliar terrain: Ethiopia in 1935 is under threat from the forces led by Mussolini and the growing fascist ideas that looks at nations being forged on the lines of race. The people of the country are outnumbered, poorly equipped but not lacking in its resistance, not even when the Emperor accepts Exile to a foreign country. The narrative on war or rather, what goes on behind a war to people who are pitted against one another gives readers an insight into the inner battles over humanity, over morality and over where women are placed. It also looks at collective and personal memory in terms of how history looks at war as the exploits of valour of men apart from the obvious tone of who is the victor.Hirut,a central protagonist is one you are not likely to forget in a hurry: her journey from a young carefree girl to an unsure employee and one swept by the forces of history, one that will not give her or other women their due. What happens with Hirut when she is employed by Aster and then how the war places both women in the same category and yet in such marked difference due to the difference in social positions between the two is a powerful turn in the narrative. This is a book to be read with patience, one you need to contemplate and immerse yourself in.

Lovely book at much better price than the market. Thanks to the seller and Amazon for making it available.

̶X

Just started reading

I bought this book for a class on African Literature and was asked to write a review after reading it.The Shadow King is a beautifully written novel exploring untold histories, gender and class conflicts, love, loss, and war. In the novel we see the Italian invasion of Ethiopia beginning in 1936 from the perspective of the rag-tag, undersupplied, outnumbered, Ethiopian volunteer army as they try to hold off Musilini’s approach. The main characters are Hirut - an orphaned girl who works as a servant for Kidane and Aster, a married couple who lead an Ethiopian militia. Kidane and Aster’s marriage, which we learn was arranged against Aster’s wishes, is strained by loss, jealousy, and resentment. Dispursed throughout the chapters are also snippets following Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie as he slowly watches his country fall and is forced to into exile, as well as Carlos Fucelli, the merciless general leading the Italian troops, and Ettore, a Jewish Italian photographer and soldier. The characters’ paths intertwine, creating a suspenseful, complicated, and gut-wrenchingly painful story where no one comes out the victor.Maaza Mengiste’s writing is what truly makes this novel worth reading. Her complicated characters and vivid imagery are presented through almost poetic diction which makes the novel both emotionally difficult to read and captivating enough to make it hard to put down. Mengiste’s style can be difficult to follow, especially due to the lack of punctuation around conversations. Nothing is said overtly in quotations, which makes it difficult to follow who is speaking and what is said aloud or simply thought. This ambiguity adds to the ghostly motifs throughout the novel, with characters frequently being visited by, seeing, and speaking to the people they have lost. While it may also be difficult for readers unfamiliar with the Invasion of Ethiopia to follow the historical references and allusions, Mengiste does an excellent job of connecting the characters’ personal stories to the historical events. For those of us who are unfortunately not taught African histories in school, it is well worth some personal research into the references Mengiste makes because the historical allusions and symbolism multiply the richness of her writing tenfold.For me, the most memorable part of the book is the complexity of the characters, especially Aster. While we may want to see Aster as a stunning, powerful, determined leader, it is impossible to ignore her flaws. At the start of the novel, Aster is the villain. She mistreats Hurit as well as the cook, ransacking the few personal belongings the servants have and even going so far as to beat Hurit with a horsewhip and leave her close to death in the stable. We learn, however, that Aster is just as trapped in her marriage as her servants are in her house. No woman in the story is safe from brutality. Out of her powerless position as a child sold into her arranged marriage, Aster emerges as the defiant leader of the women fighting for Ethiopia - including Hirut.. Aster inspires a unique feminist movement of women determined to carve a place for themselves in history as more than the cooks, nurses, and gravediggers.All that said, The Shadow King is not an easy read. Its chapters are filled with brutal violence and loss, which Mengiste writes about in painful detail. Even in a story promising to hail the heroism of female soldiers, there are very few victories for the characters we grow to empathize with. If not under threat from the invading Italians, Hirut, Aster, and other women are emotionally and physically abused by Kidane or the other men they are fighting alongside. For Kidane, despite his violence towards his wife and Hirut, we are also made to sympathize with his dispersion to protect his county and the guilt he is riddled with after every loss. Even when following Ettore in the Italian army, things are anything but good. He observes the unrelenting brutality of the Italian commander, is riddled by guilt over his role in it, and worries about his Jewish parents back in Italy. While I would recommend this book to readers interested in history, and especially those curious about sides of history that are usually left out of textbooks, and I admire Mengiste’s writing style, I found it extremely difficult to get through.

Mycket bra

Starts off with twisting prose that is a mite overworked for me but builds beautifully. As you tune I to the language and perspectives the story shifts from a cantor to a trot and then a thrilling race to a most satisfying and true enough ending. You leave the last pages more informed and a mite breathless.

La autora recrea (en términos objetivos y subjetivos) la realidad de la situación, pero con un ángulo muy personal sobre los personajes y lo que les ocurre.

Tutto a posto