Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me.
I started it and tried to persevere with it but I couldn’t
I DNFed it

Thank you for my review copy of this book. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I think I’m the problem rather than the book as I’m really struggling to engage with historical fiction at the moment.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
An intriguing book on a little known area on history. The prose was beautiful with some phrases particularly catching my eye. The cast of characters were varied and interesting.
At times, it was confusing as things could have been explained better and the various viewpoints were a bit difficult to follow at times.
On the whole, a good book

Set during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, Maaza Mengiste's Booker-shortlisted second novel, The Shadow King, focuses initially on a single unhappy household: Kidane, his wife Aster, and their orphaned maid Hirut, who has been employed because her parents were Kidane's old friends. However, this novel is told not only through the perspectives of these three characters, but through a huge range of voices, including, but not confined to: a Greek style 'chorus' who are able to view events from an omniscient perspective; Ethopian emperor Haile Selassie; and a young Venetian soldier, Ettore, who takes photographs during the conflict. For me, this structure was over-complicated, and I would have preferred a tighter emotional focus. Mengiste's prose is also at its best when she is inhabiting the headspace of a single character, whether that's Hirut or Selassie. At times, her writing is so evocative and resonant; for example, when Hirut experiences a moment of rare joy, she reflects 'This is where all the light in the world has settled... This is where it has been while she was struggling in such darkness'. However, in the more generalised sections of this novel, the writing can devolve into melodramatic cliche ('Inside the box are the many dead that insist on resurrection.') The central events of the novel, as summarised by the blurb, still haven't kicked off at the halfway point, and although I thought there was much to admire in The Shadow King, its unnecessary complexity and unevenness ultimately led me to abandon it. DNF @45%.

I have to admit I had low expectations when I started reading this book. The top reviews of Goodreads had DNF'ed this book and called it long-winded.

My feelings about this book are wholly different though. I also found it hard to get into. The writing style isn't easy going. It's been called lyrical, but I didn't think it flowed. However, once I was in, I was in and I couldn't put it down.

I initially picked the book up, because the premise sounded great. The story is about the Italian invasion in Ethiopia during WWII. Another thing most people don't know about is the fact that there were a lot of female soldiers in Ethiopia back then. Mengiste has written a work of fiction based on facts. We follow Hirut and Aster, two female soldiers who are the fiercest soldiers of all. I love learning new things in books, and this book definitely opened my eyes a bit more in terms of the country's history.

This book is written from different points-of-view. There are sections that cover Haile Selassie's story. We hear Hirut's thoughts, but also the Italian commander & photographer play a big role in the telling of the story.

If Hilary Mantel final instalment of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy, would not have been released this year I think Maaza's novel would be a strong contender for the Man Booker Prize this year. Who knows, she might just win anyways!

Many thanks to the publisher Canongate Books and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy!

Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books I KNOW is good. It is well written, it’s important and it provides an interesting female perspective on an area of history perhaps little known in the West.

All that said, I just could not get into it. It was simply a “it’s not you, it’s me” book. Review not posted anywhere else.

These aren’t the days to pretend you’re only a wife or a sister or a mother, she says. We’re more than this.

Set during the Second Italo-Ethiopian war, The Shadow King, tells the story of Hirut, a servant working for the landowner and soldier, Kidane, and his wife Aster. Kidane took Hirut in when her parents died and his interest in her provokes jealousy from Aster, who is grieving the death of their child. Beginning in a claustrophobic domestic setting, the scope of the novel widens when the Italians invade Ethiopia. It’s clear early on that neither Hirut nor Aster will be content with supporting the men as they wage war; Hirut is furious when Kidane takes the gun her father gave her and donates it to the cause, and – in a superb set piece – as Empress Menen gives a speech calling on women to ‘express their solidarity’ against acts of war, Aster dresses in her father-in-law’s uniform; A woman dressed as a warrier, looking as fierce as any man.

The narrative roves between a number of other characters including Ettore Navarra, a Jewish-Italian photographer; Ferres, a highly educated, expensive sex-worker and spy; Carlo Fucelli, leader of the Italian invasion, and Haile Selassie, initially in Addis Ababa and then in exile in Bath, England. There is also a chorus which comments and advises. Their appearance works alongside increasing references to Greek mythology, as the behaviour of some of the characters echoes those from the epic journeys. This movement is skilfully done, creating an engaging picture of the various battles – physical and psychological – that take place.

The novel’s title refers to an incident at the centre of the book where Hirut recognises the similarity between a peasant musician called Minim (‘nothing’) and Haile Selassie. In order to motivate and encourage the soldiers, Aster and Hirut dress Minim and train him to act like the emperor. Hirut becomes his guard. This isn’t the only shadow over the story though; many of the characters act in particular ways due to stories, advice and traits that have been passed down to them. Mengiste shows how ideas of masculinity and femininity are moulded in this way and the damage these gender constructs wield. She also considers how Ettore’s family have been forced to create a narrative and a different life due to anti-semitism and the impact this has on him when he’s seen as other in all the contexts he’s placed in.

Huge in scope and ambition, The Shadow King is an absorbing narrative through which Mengiste writes back into history the presence of female soldiers (including her own great-grandmother) in the Second Italo-Ethiopian war. A triumph.

I really, tremendously, enjoyed The Shadow King. I finished the book before I knew it was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize and thus had no preconceptions about the title which let me avoid the hype and enjoy the book on its own merit.

‘Defiant’ is certainly the key theme for The Shadow King: from the prose to the characters and even the setting. Every page rings with righteous defiance and it makes for a powerful and evocative read. Rage, sorrow, pride and fervent rage permeate the entire book and leave it dripping with emotion. Mengiste’s potent writing style echoes the bold women it portrays while refusing to let these amazing women fade into the shadows of men. The humiliation and karmic retribution on the two main unsavoury and cruel male characters in the book was also a nice touch; the narrative, and the book itself, is solidly on the side of the women it features.

Every single character is well-written, fully-realised and human: even those who appear for only 2 lines. I barely have any criticisms. My one note is that there was a lull in the middle which I had to push through. But it was worth it, and the book became even better as it neared its glorious and valiant end.

The Shadow King is a wonderful read, and a fitting tribute to the overlooked Ethiopian female soldiers who defended and reclaimed their land from colonizers.

I found this book fascinating, although a little slow to get into at times. It is a part of history I knew nothing about and found that aspect of the book worthwhile, however, for me, the writing style took away my reading pleasure as I found that difficult to grasp at times. Overall an interesting read and a story that most certainly needs to be told.

You know that thing where you read a book so eye-opening and incredible you don’t even know where to start in talking about it because you just know you’ll never do it justice? I got that with The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste.

The novel is set primarily during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia (Hands up, this is a part of history that I knew very little about before beginning reading) and focuses on the women soldiers who have been largely omitted from historical records. It begins with Hirut, who has been recently orphaned, and her new life as a maid for Kidane and his wife, Aster. From there the book opens up to how they all, this household, and the others from local villages who gathered to fight, prepare for the incoming Italian invasion and how their lives are crushed and changed during and after it.

I really enjoyed the writing here, it had an almost cinematic quality in the details and descriptions. Mengiste hasn’t just focused on what’s happening to the characters in their immediate environment, we’re getting the full birds-eye macro view down to the last bullet or bandage. It makes for an overwhelming read at times, there is just so much to absorb, but add that to the lyrical tone of the words and it’s truly a special book.

It was fascinating to see this very female side of the war depicted. Often we only hear the male side of war, with occasional glimpses of the experiences of women. It makes for a powerful and emotional read. Hirut’s voice will hurt at times, make you feel pride at others, but always keep you engaged. I’m so grateful to have read this book, and I recommend it to all.