paperquilt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
arnorosenfeld's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, War, and Murder
angharadmiller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and War
brogan7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Very difficult book. Trigger warnings in every moment.
Perhaps the difficulties with this book lie in the difference between the expectations as set up by the blurb versus the reality of the story as it is told?
Maybe this is meant to reflect the difference between war propaganda and the realities of war itself?
I'm not one to say: well, you can't like a book if you don't like what happened in it. If that were the case, there would be no books about incest, war, sexual assault, and a good number of other things. But then again, when you have a book that is so graphic and so detailed...not only in elements of historical veracity, but also in details that are to do with the fictional world that she created...I don't know, maybe it takes someone with less sensitivity than me to read such things? And if so, what is the point of writing them?
In Jarhead, the military guy says: there's no such thing as an anti-war movie. The military guys watch anti-war movies like they're porn, to get themselves hyped up for a battle.
I have a feeling that this book suggests to me there is a point where an anti-war, anti-violence-against-women book becomes itself an object of violence against women. (The (male) commentator on the cover says: "Beautiful and devastating." I wonder by what objective measure you can call this book beautiful? There were parts, certainly--I read it because of the beginning, because of how Mengiste pulls you in and the character of Hirut is so strong and so compelling and so downtrodden, that you are already caring about her before you even have a chance... but this book is not beautiful. In fact, I hate that he calls it beautiful because in a way I find this story hugely patriarchal. It says, it doesn't matter what you do to women, they will survive. It doesn't matter how trashed they are by men, they will survive. They won't be broken, they'll be survivors. And I just have a little more rage left than that, this kind of "all-forgiving," very martyr-mother-Mary kind of legend, where at the end of it, she's still standing, as though that is okay, then, that we as human beings read all of the ravages done unto her and other women, we're still goddamn well forgiving the heinous crimes of the men around her, because she comes out triumphant.
I call bullshit.
The book jacket says this book is "an unputdownable exploration of female power."
I would have to say, at close of reading, that if that is the extent to which we can imagine female power, we are in major trouble. It is an examination of power, certainly. But an exploration of female power? No. It is overwhelmingly about male power and the will to exterminate and destroy. It is about, as she says more than once in the book, those who are born to own things and those who are born to be owned.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I wanted to learn something about the history of Ethiopia that would help me understand what is happening in the Tigray, now.
Perhaps the difficulties with this book lie in the difference between the expectations as set up by the blurb versus the reality of the story as it is told?
Maybe this is meant to reflect the difference between war propaganda and the realities of war itself?
I'm not one to say: well, you can't like a book if you don't like what happened in it. If that were the case, there would be no books about incest, war, sexual assault, and a good number of other things. But then again, when you have a book that is so graphic and so detailed...not only in elements of historical veracity, but also in details that are to do with the fictional world that she created...I don't know, maybe it takes someone with less sensitivity than me to read such things? And if so, what is the point of writing them?
In Jarhead, the military guy says: there's no such thing as an anti-war movie. The military guys watch anti-war movies like they're porn, to get themselves hyped up for a battle.
I have a feeling that this book suggests to me there is a point where an anti-war, anti-violence-against-women book becomes itself an object of violence against women. (The (male) commentator on the cover says: "Beautiful and devastating." I wonder by what objective measure you can call this book beautiful? There were parts, certainly--I read it because of the beginning, because of how Mengiste pulls you in and the character of Hirut is so strong and so compelling and so downtrodden, that you are already caring about her before you even have a chance... but this book is not beautiful. In fact, I hate that he calls it beautiful because in a way I find this story hugely patriarchal. It says, it doesn't matter what you do to women, they will survive. It doesn't matter how trashed they are by men, they will survive. They won't be broken, they'll be survivors. And I just have a little more rage left than that, this kind of "all-forgiving," very martyr-mother-Mary kind of legend, where at the end of it, she's still standing, as though that is okay, then, that we as human beings read all of the ravages done unto her and other women, we're still goddamn well forgiving the heinous crimes of the men around her, because she comes out triumphant.
I call bullshit.
The book jacket says this book is "an unputdownable exploration of female power."
I would have to say, at close of reading, that if that is the extent to which we can imagine female power, we are in major trouble. It is an examination of power, certainly. But an exploration of female power? No. It is overwhelmingly about male power and the will to exterminate and destroy. It is about, as she says more than once in the book, those who are born to own things and those who are born to be owned.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I wanted to learn something about the history of Ethiopia that would help me understand what is happening in the Tigray, now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, War, Adult/minor relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Rape, Vomit, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child death
busyblackbookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
tenten's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death and Antisemitism
booking_along's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the shadow king tells the story of those ethiopian women who fought alongside men, who even today have remained no more than errant lines in faded documents. what i have come to understand is this: the story of war had always been a masculine story, but this was not true for ethiopia and it has never been that way in any form of struggle. women have been there, we are here now.
in the acknowledgments:
to those women and girls of ethiopia who would not let themselves be completely erased by history, who stood up when i was looking for them and made themselves known. i see you. i will always see you.
i think i wasn’t in the right headspace to read this book when i read it.
the story and how the author talks about why the book was written and all that sounds fantastic.
but i couldn’t get into the actual writing and keep losing interest in the book for no good reason other then that i kept noticing my mind would wander while i tried to read this book.
i did read it and finished it but i feel like i missed parts.
so i don’t feel like i can give review until i reread it or looked up if others had similar struggles with this book and it’s not me but the writing.
as i feel about this right now?
great idea, important story, but told in a way that made it hard for me to want to read it
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
popcornreading's review against another edition
This was way too lyrical for my tastes. Everything is written in metaphor to the point where I don’t understand how a character moved from point a to b. It was exhausting to decipher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Child abuse, and War
bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
5✨
historical fiction, African literature
themes of war, the strength of women, fighting the fuck back
this novel is truly stunning. i was blown away. i can’t imagine what it took to write this - the historical research, the lyrical descriptions, and the devastating content. there were lines and thoughts and ideas and concepts that just took everything out of me. that shook me to my core.
although i didn’t find this to be true for me, i can definitely understand why people say this is a hard book to read. it’s extremely dense, and the subplots are real. but i think that’s when historical fiction is at its best. the characterization and stories that exist within the historical event brought to life through fiction - that’s what The Shadow King is.
and i mean when will the empowerment of women, especially within the context of a story we are ALWAYS overlooked within, not be incredible in a book? i think never
“who remembers what it means to be more than what this world believes of us?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexual assault, and Rape
kittya's review against another edition
Got bored
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and War