Literature

15
Sep
2020

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

Since it’s shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, I thought I’d repost the review of The Shadow King that I posted earlier on Facebook.

I just finished reading ‘The Shadow King’ by Maaza Mengiste. It’s a story of the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia told in a beautiful, lyrical manner that seems much different than most war novels in its lyricism.The story centers around Hirut, a young woman who is a servant to a wealthy Ethiopian man, Kidane, and his wife, Aster. Hirut is an orphan and she has been taken in by this couple who knew her parents.Kidane is fond of Hirut, but Aster resents her.When war comes, Kidane recruits an army They are forced to leave their home when the Italians come, Kidane leading his troops and Hirut and Aster following behind. Hirut and Aster long to join the fight but are forbidden by Kidane and, when Hirut steals a gun to fight, she is brutally raped by Kidane. She realizes that there’s no way out but to fight.Eventually Hirut and Aster lead a troop of female fighters and, as Hirut trains she envisions fighting not the Italians but Kidane. There is reference to ancient battles, to the Iliad and Icarus and Daedalus. There are chapters about Emperor Haile Selassie and some historical narrative but the whole thing is strange and wonderful in a way I did not anticipate. There is pity and fear. One of the reviewers thought it gave her goose bumps from time to time and I agree. Hirut is a remarkable hero and this is a book you should read. I highly recommend it. For those of you who live in Maryland, it’s available on Maryland’s Digital eLibrary Consortium.

Posted by Tom in Books, Literature
30
Aug
2020

Disappearing Earth

View of Petroplavovsk

I just finished reading ‘Disappearing Earth’, the debut novel by Julia Phillips and I loved it. The novel has been well-received – one of New York Times 10 best books of the year, finalist for the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics’ John Leonard Prize. A Best Book of 2019 by Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, NPR, Kirkus, Vanity Fair, Variety, Esquire and many others.

The book is set on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula where, one August afternoon two young girls go missing. In the ensuing months police investigations and volunteer searches turn up nothing.

What follows is a novel in the form of overlapping stories about women who are affected directly or indirectly by the disappearance. The book takes us through a year in Kamchatka – an odd place with no road connection to the rest of Russia because it was a closed military reservation during the Soviet period. There is one major city – Petroplavovsk and a number of small villages – many inhabited by the indigenous people who herd reindeer and visit the city in the winter.

Phillips does a wonderful job not only of delineating the scenery of forests, mountains, volcanoes and stark vistas of snow and ice but also the stories of the women who have all experienced loss in one sense or another. The disappearance of the two Russian girls which is exhaustively investigated is contrasted to the earlier disappearance of an native girl which is hardly noticed by the authorities. It turns out they are related.

It’s a wonderful, well-written book and I urge you to give it a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. HERE is the NYT review.

Posted by Tom in Books, Literature, Mystery