Reviews

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

bookinista08's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A much darker read than what I had expected (trigger warnings for sexual abuse, blood, war violence), but the writing style was absolutely intoxicating and hypnotic and even if I took my time with it, I enjoyed every single minute spent reading this book.

kittyka0s's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Pedophilia, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Misogyny, Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

georgina_bawden's review against another edition

2.0

I really enjoyed the opening of this book but it sort of lost me in the middle. I think the issue might have been one of expectation - I thought it was going to be about the women who fought in the Italian invasion of the 1940s and that is part of it, but an enormous amount of time is given to the men involved, Ethiopian and Italian, and ultimately I felt I didn't get enough of the story of these women. There is also a lot of sexual assault in this book - no female character is spared I don't think. I find that quite hard to read personally which affected my experience of the book, and made it particularly hard to care about the male characters doing the assaulting! The story of the Jewish Italian soldier did add some interesting texture. I felt it didn't quite come together or live up to its premise (or indeed it's prose!).

shosh00's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

kayode's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

graysand's review against another edition

I think this is probably a very good book, but the writing style was not for me. I found it hard to concentrate on what was happening because it was so "prosey." My mind just started to wander. I would consider picking this up again in a different season of my life. 

drdreuh's review against another edition

5.0

A breathtaking novel set in a period of history I knew nearly nothing about. At some point I found myself wondering if the author was male or female - a strange thing to wonder. The intricacies of war and the intricacies of relationships are both so exquisitely - shockingly - detailed. 'The Shadow King' is just magnificent, and I walked away needing to know more.

Great interview with Maaza Mengiste, from the Nerdette podcast: https://pca.st/episode/b477922b-224d-40cd-83e6-d94e73be3eb4

kimberly28's review against another edition

3.25

I didn't hate the book, but I'm left mostly with a lot of "why was this written like this" questions, that I feel detract from the writing. If I typed them all out it would look like I hated this book. Long review short, this should have been Hirut's story alone, IMO. Keep it clean, keep it focused. 

ghigufa's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

wateriscool1's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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

3.0