The Shadow King

Malgré mon intérêt pour le sujet, ce livre m'a généré beaucoup de frustrations. J'aurais souhaité voir les personnages féminins et leurs relations entre elles plus développées, avoir davantage accès a leur psychologie. Le style était difficile d'approche, mais je m'y suis habituée. J'ai particulièrement apprécié la construction narrative habilement menée par l'autrice.

I really wanted to like this book, and the 2 stars I did generously give it (1.5 rounded up) come from the fact that the plot is solid and genuinely interesting. Where it falls down is in the style. It is so detached and cold that the narrative does mot engage the reader. Maybe it’s because it is written in third person but I never felt like the story was happening around me. A good writer brings each page alive and draws a reader into the story and this book never once did that. It as engaging as reading minutes from a meeting and ultimately I had no connection with any of the characters.

***Spoilers***This book was hard to read, because there is so much trauma seeping through every page. The best example of it is Aster. I started out pitying her because she was a woman who lost her son and so she abused the little girl brought into her home. Then the story reveals her past. She was a child bride raped into a twisted version of womanhood. She cannot stand the little girl Hirut, not only because she came on the anniversary of her son's death, but also because Hirut's a little older than Aster was when she was "married." She's worried, turns out for good reason, that her husband is trying to replace her. Instead of turning her anger on her abuser-husband, Aster directs it at the one in her power and whips Hirut when she steals the wedding necklace Kidane wore on their "wedding" night. The characters are very complex, but I don't know if I can rate this higher than a 3. If it stays with me, I will come back and rate it higher.

a compelling story of the invasion by Mussolini in 1933 to Ethiopia and the resistance. Set against this historical background is a very touching story of women warriors, personal stories, love, violence, memories, .