Book Review | Women have also been an integral part of the struggle for independence on the African continent: Maaza Mengiste wrote the novel inspired by her Ethiopian grandmother

Culture|Book review

Novel

Maaza Mengiste: The Shadow King. Aleksi Milonoff, Finland. Athens. 500 s.

In my hand is a mound that goes back to 1935. At that time, the Italian armed forces invaded Ethiopia and occupied the country. The international community condemned Italy’s actions, which violated Ethiopia’s sovereignty. The League of Nations imposed economic sanctions on Italy. Emperor Haile Selassie fled to Britain.

Does it sound familiar?

Maaza Mengisten (b. 1974) novel The Shadow King in this world situation, becomes the mirror of the war that has just erupted in Europe. In the novel, Italy is attacking Russia, Ethiopia defending its independence Ukraine.

The reason why the Italian army is raging in Ethiopia is, in a way, a side issue. It is about power relations. The need to subjugate and show strength, to be with other European powers to take over the colonies.

The war between Ethiopia and Italy ended in May 1936. However, the Allies did not allow the occupiers to drive out of the country until World War II in 1941, when Ethiopia’s independence was restored.

BookerThe novel, which was nominated for the prize, is based on the stories that Menginen heard about his grandfather about that war. Those stories highlighted the heroic deeds of the men, and Mengiste became interested in the role of the shadow women in the war.

Thanks to the investigation, she found the story of her grandmother About Geteywhich gave To the shadow king starting point – and protagonist.

In the novel, a young orphan girl, Hirut, works as a maid in the family of an Ethiopian army officer. The only property and memory of the parents is the old rifle of the father. Hirut later grabs it and becomes a fighter alongside the other fighters.

Opposed is the modern Italian army, and the means of defense are far more rudimentary than the adversary. Therefore, different fighting strategies need to be developed.

When Hirut notices the resemblance of one soldier to Haile Selassie, a decision is made to cheat the Italians. The emperor has burned out of exile! Hirut becomes the bodyguard of this false king.

The novel however, the real shadow queen – actually the shadow queen – is Hirut herself. And now it’s high time for those in the shadows to step into the light, Mengiste seems to say.

In addition to the Italian army, Hirut has obstacles to overcome within his own community – both class and gender. This struggle is not easy, and its author wants to make it visible: the hard price paid by women who have defied their traditional roles and entered the front line, subjugated by both their community and the enemy.

In his novel, Mengiste insightfully describes how enemy images are created and maintained. How the otherness that enables brutality is built, time and time again.

In order to kill and torture, one person must be seen as another, quite different from oneself.

Clear there are also class differences within Ethiopia that matter during peacetime but are eventually watered down in the midst of the horrors of war. Everyone is equally cannon fodder, Titles and family roots no longer help.

Emperor Haile Selassi’s favorite opera in exile Aida with its plot twists brings an interesting variation to the structure of the novel and brings its own nuances to the language. The solemn and pompous register agrees with the very detailed bodily description.

Mengiste has listened carefully to the stories of his family and is able to empathize with violent situations vividly and physically.