Found this pretty hard to get into, written in quite a dream like way moving backwards and forwards through time, but ultimately did enjoy it and was interesting to learn about a country and period of history I otherwise knew little about.

TW: this book contains violence, including of a sexual nature.

I first fell in love with the gorgeous art work of the cover for The Shadow King while browsing NetGalley, but I knew I HAD to read this book after looking at the blurb. Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia during WWII is afforded very little (if any) space in history text books around the world, but as an Italian woman, I was even more aware of really how little I knew of this chapter in history.

The Shadow King is, of course, not a history book, but, being based on the author's own family history and extensive research, it provides a snapshot of life in a country at war. Following both the Ethiopian and the Italian armies, The Shadow King features an impressive cast of unforgettable characters. I was very impressed at how well most of these were painted, as almost every character, even the ones we meet only a few times, felt complex and real. The book avoided falling in the good people/bad people trap, showing time and again how light and dark, cruelty and kindness can co-exist within each individual.

The pacing was slightly uneven, with some sections being rather action-packed, and others moving much more slowly. Normally, this would bother me quite a bit, but for some reason it just seemed to work here. I also really liked the author's style. The prose was beautiful and often lyrical, although it felt slightly overbearing at times and occasionally made for some very confusing sentences. In particular, the lack of conventional punctuation and the absence of quotation marks to introduce dialogues (think Saramago) definitely needed some getting used to, and may be off-putting to some readers.

The one thing that made this stop short of a 5-star rating for me was the fact that, for a book wanting to focus on the forgotten contribution of women in war, there really weren't that many women in the main cast. Hirut and Aster were really the only fully-fleshed out female warriors, while we were introduced to numerous male fighters in Kidane's camp. While I loved getting to know Hirut and Aster, exploring their complexities and their backgrounds, I would have definitely preferred to see more of other female characters, such as Fifi or any of the numerous unnamed women in Kidane's army.

Overall, this was a very interesting read, tackling a lesser-known side of history with grace. I will definitely be on the look-out for more of Maaza Mengiste's work!

I knew nothing of Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 before opening up the pages of this book. Which is normally a good thing - fulfilling the desire to open my mind to lives and experiences so very unlike my own. But honestly, though the writing was beautiful, this was so far out of my frame of reference that much of what it was actually trying to do and say, went over my head. Perhaps a history book would've been a better place for me to start...

Interesting structure and interesting setting. However, though the writing was lyrical, it was also very repetitive with the same literary devices repeating over and over.

Set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King sheds light on female soldiers left out of the historical record, in an event often ignored in the Western teachings of history.

It can take a while to get to the meat of the novel, but it is a story of great scope. Fleshed out characters, transporting surroundings, luxurious prose, The Shadow King is not only a worthy story for more to discover, but done so with real craft.

Wow! This was something else. Taking in a little known part of the lead up to WW2, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, this book is written so well that you are completely immersed. The female warriors are inspirational and a true tale of strength. A brilliant must read.

The Shadow King is an exquisitely lyrical fact meets fiction historical epic set at the beginning of World War II. It charts Italian fascist Benito Mussolini’s imperialist dream as he invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, with the intention of making it an Italian colony. This act of aggression shook the country to its core and forced Emperor Haile Selassie into exile. Mussolini knew that Ethiopia had little to no chance of winning against the superior weapons and vast numbers of highly trained soldiers they had at their fingertips yet this didn't make it any less bloody, violent and downright brutal. The story then covers the Ethiopian resistance through the eyes of a cast of brave women who wished to fight for their country rather than being relegated to simply caring for the injured and burying the dead. Hirut is an unforgettable character who pushes for women to do more. Unfortunately, she is later captured by the Italians and kept as a prisoner of war by cruel and cold-blooded soldiers.

There is so much happening throughout the book that you definitely need your wits about you if you pick it up; you are rewarded with a powerful, fierce, feminist tale showing the resilience of the human spirit and the human ability to get up to fight time and time again despite dire circumstances and great adversity. Mengiste is a master storyteller and has crafted a complex, convoluted story allowing you to slowly and satisfyingly peel back the multiple layers and get to the meat of it all. It's intricate and wholly original with a cast of unforgettable characters and will appeal to those seeking something a little different or obscure as well as those who enjoy reading about this period in history. This is a fascinating novel covering a lesser-known part of WWII and it certainly made for compelling reading. I truly hope it gets the attention it deserves as it seems like a labour of love for Ms Mengiste; I can't even imagine the amount of research that went into creating the narrative but it seems extensive. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an epic piece of historical fiction covering the period of Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the contribution of Ethiopian female soldiers. However its much more than this is my opinion. This book tells multiple stories about the horrors of war and what people will do to survive and justify their actions and is written with an elegant and sophistication that such a story deserves.

The book has an unusual structure, with interludes throughout which I liked. weighty and somewhat graphic in parts, I think the effort required to read this book is worth it.

Set during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in World War 2, The Shadow King follows a cast of three women as they navigate the invasion.

It's a compelling viewpoint and clearly beautifully written and researched, but the lyricism makes it a little hard to identify with the characters leaving me feeling detached from it, even despite the horrific and complex atrocities and relationships in the book. It is a fantastic book and has left me thinking, but feels a little dry in places.

Megiste's novel is set during Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia during the 1930s and tells the story of the Ethiopian resistance, particularly emphasising the role of women in the fight back. She does this mainly through the story of Hirut, a poor servant girl who rises to become a warrior and bodyguard of the shadow king.
This is a period of history I previously knew nothing about and therefore I was keen to read this novel but sadly, despite some good writing, I found it a struggle. It is soooooo long and the pace during the middle section of the novel is very slow. I think this is one of those novels that has been researched in such incredible detail that the author then just doesn't know what to do with all the information. So as well as Hirut's story, we have chapters and subplots featuring Aster, Kidane, Ettore, Carlo, Fifi and Haile Selaisse himself. There are too many dialogue scenes, too many battle scenes...basically too much of everything. As a result some of the key points of the narrative, for example the creation of the shadow king, really get lost. I also didn't quite know what to make of the characterisation, all the characters are complex, neither hero nor villain, but also quite inscrutable-I never understood the dynamics between the characters, nor their motivations, so it was hard to emotionally engage with the novel. A much better novel lies inside this one but really requires some drastic editing. I am giving three stars for teaching me some new history and some Amharic and for some moving descriptions of the horrors of war.

Mengiste is a writer of rare quality. This novel tells us of the courage of loyal Ethiopians in their fight against the Italian army who invaded their country in 1931. Haile Selassie fled the country and took up refuge in England leaving his subjects to fight alone. And fight they did. A small group of rebels, using guerrilla tactics against the vastly superior Italian forces, gains broader support from rumours that the King - The Shadow King of the title - has returned to fight at their side. Mengiste's wonderful writing ensures we totally engage with the characters and share their abhorrence of the cruelty the Italians inflict. Above all we appreciate how the love of their land, their history and their Emperor drives them to ultimate victory. A truly moving and absorbing novel whose literary brilliance deserves to earn Mengiste international recognition.

This is a very interesting and intriguing read. I knew nothing about this part of history. This is the first time I had heard of Italy invading Ethiopia. It was compelling reading. The strength of the women shines through. The descriptions bring them to life so vividly. This is a book that I would definitely recommend and it is one I will not forget.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is undoubtedly epic in scope and intention but I sadly found it slow and oddly uninvolving. It takes a long time for the story outlined in the blurb to emerge and I thought there would be more attention to women in war than there actually is. Mengiste's prose is packed with similes: some will find it lyrical, others a bit tiresome - a well-placed image, for me, is more memorable than a host on every page.

I like the sophisticated narrative style that shifts to include a chorus of voices, descriptions of chilling photos (which made me think of Abu Ghraib), as well as a more conventional 3rd person. There are complicated relationships here between the Ethiopian characters as well as their colonizers. And some scenes are memorable: a young wife on her wedding night, the hanging of a young man.

Despite all the good stuff, I never felt emotionally involved in the events in the way I wanted to be. Perhaps the scope is too large and the individuals don't emerge fully? Perhaps there's a lack of clarity and transparency in the storytelling that left me feeling that I was watching, rather than living alongside the characters? A fabulous topic and an interesting writer, just not my favourite book.

Maaza Mengiste's blend of poetic and lyrical historical fiction and fact that focuses on little known aspects of the beginnings of WW2 is an extraordinary literary accomplishment but nevertheless proved to be a challenge to read. It has echoes of Shakespearean plays and elements of classic Greek plays with its use of a collective chorus speaking for all with one voice, but the deployment of a lack of puntuation in parts of the storytelling made reading this difficult until I became accustomed to it. Mengiste writes a hauntingly heartbreaking and moving original story of Italy's ambitious Mussolini wanting to sweep away the historic shame of previous defeat by Ethiopia, by seeking vengeance with a 1935 invasion of the country under Emperor Haile Selassie. It's a brutal, violent, and cruel endeavour, with Italy expecting a straight forward victory with their vastly superior technology.

Depicted within the narrative is Selassie's despair as he prepares for exile, photos with their snapshot description of what occurs and the connections that exist and grow between a orphan, the brave and courageous Hirut, who ends up working as a maid to a military commander, Dejazmach Kidane and his wife, Aster and an Italian Jewish photographer, Ettore Navarro, in the Italian army, a patriot who believes in the war, only to find himself forced to question the war and himself as the never ending terrors and horrors unfold. For good reason, Hirat is a resentful and unhappy woman, but both she and Aster refuse to accept their role of burying the dead and providing aid to those wounded. Inspired by Hirat, the shadow king is created to raise Ethiopian spirits and fighting efforts. As women become Ethiopia's warriors, Hirat becomes a prisoner of war under the cruel and horrifying Italian soldiers, to end up years later reflecting on this period of her life through the medium of photographs.

Mengiste is a truly gifted novelist, her multilayered writing is on a epic scale, capturing a wide and disparate set of perspectives on the tragedy of war, its repercussions, and its critical role in shifting and changing people. Her unique spotlight on women, all that they are, what they endure, the abuse and rape, and above all their resilience and remarkable strength in the war provides the backbone to this superb book. None of the subtly nuanced characters are black and white caricatures, where unexpected kindnesses can be found in the most unusual quarters. The author looks at both sides in the conflict, giving us an eye opening look at this period of WW2 history in Ethiopia and Italy's effort to enforce colonial rule. This is not going to be a book for everyone, but it will be for many readers who are looking for something different and for those interested in this period of history. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

wow - what a fascinating and utterly important story. we don't often get to read these stories; stories of war and colonisation from Italy. when we read about Mussolini's italy, its often in relation to the war, but never of its colonisation of Ethiophia. An absolutely important novel I recommend.