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astoldbyunathi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
madisonambroise's review against another edition
4.0
- Really enjoyed and really liked the story
- Depressing as fuck!! like everyone has something going on with them, even the people who I really don’t like/who do really terrible things. One the one hand, it rounds the characters out and invites empathy. But I’m also like NO I don’t like you.
- Pretty graphic depictions of violence and sexual assault, which was tough to read.
- Definitely a narrative that is not often shared!
stanro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I’m finding this book difficult to write about. Set in Ethiopia as the Italian war looms and then arrives, it initially centres on two women - Oster, the strong-willed wife of military leader Kidane, and Hirut , a strong-willed servant. It is about how they deal with the situation and each other.
There’s war. That so-frequent war between a European coloniser employing western technology and the indigenous people defending their land, in this case the land of young Emperor Haile Selassie (himself a recurring character), with native weapons and antiquated European weapons in inadequate availability. Yet forty years earlier, the Italians had been beaten off!
As Kidane determines his military actions and the Emperor departs his empire for Europe, we meet the Italian army and its local commander Carlo Fucelli - a Jewish Italian colonel dealing with another strong-willed woman, Fifi, an Ethiopian prostitute of great intelligence and beauty. Amongst Fucelli’s troops is another Jewish soldier Navarro, who is the photographer. Though perfectly set up to be the observer, this soldier, Navarro, becomes more than that. And being a Jew in Italy, where Navarro’s parents are, is becoming increasingly difficult.
The setting is a rare one - certainly for this reader. The characters are well-drawn and the plot is well-constructed.
A central purpose of the author, Maaza Mengiste, is to bring front and centre the role women played in the Ethiopian resistance to the Italian invaders. Some is based on what her great-grandmother actually did.
Stylistically the book is interesting, with internalised and observed narratives, spotted with occasional changes of authorial flow headed “chorus” and “interlude.”
Set in wartime, characters are confused, angry, scared, brutal and brutalised. That narrowed emotional range makes it tough reading at times. The book is well written and the audio is well narrated. So much is there, but it doesn’t quite satisfy me somehow #areadersjourney
katakarin's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
katski's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
torihoo's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book a little hard-going until I got about halfway through, at which point the narrative seemed to solidify into a true war story in the best sense. I've seen other reviewers say that it feels mythic and, for the second half of the book, that's exactly the way I would describe it. It felt like I was reading a rendering of what would be to Ethiopia what the Iliad was to ancient Greece. Before reading this book, I knew nothing of the fascist Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Once again, an example of how white- and Western-centric our educations are in the U.S.
clementinemelodie's review
I was sold a story of women during the war, but this book (at least its first third) mainly slow and heavy description of men on the battlefield. I found it extremely tedious.
I was also very annoyed with the pretentious style, it tries to be clever and poetic but I don't think it succeeds. One particular "writing tick" I got bored with was the constant flashforwards to "this will be told in the stories, sung in the songs", etc.. yet not one song or story is actually mentioned in the book. I love when books immerse you in the culture and tales of the area it is set in, but here it's not the case. It's just a way to make any event "grand", but it is so repetitive that it feels more like a habit than a conscious creative choice.
I was also very annoyed with the pretentious style, it tries to be clever and poetic but I don't think it succeeds. One particular "writing tick" I got bored with was the constant flashforwards to "this will be told in the stories, sung in the songs", etc.. yet not one song or story is actually mentioned in the book. I love when books immerse you in the culture and tales of the area it is set in, but here it's not the case. It's just a way to make any event "grand", but it is so repetitive that it feels more like a habit than a conscious creative choice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Death of parent, and War
hbelle01's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75