Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King is a historical fiction novel that tells the tale of the women of Ethiopia and how their efforts helped try to resist the Italians during the second Italo-Ethiopian war. Through a somewhat documentarian point-of-view, we become privy to the inner workings of the war, the complex nature of strategizing, and how those who are underestimated can often be the ones we need to save us. Overall, The Shadow King resembles The Odyssey and other epic poems in a way that highlights the tradition of the oration of war by giving us three central characters: Hirut (a servant), Aster (the wife), and Kidane (the husband). These three provide insight into the workings of war and the oppression of women. 

I had no previous indication for how I would feel about this novel. I knew going into it that it is historical fiction, which is normally a minus in my checklist, but it takes place during a time period I find interesting (The Second World War) and in a new environment (Ethiopia). However, these two factors were not enough to redeem the novel. As mentioned previously, The Shadow King is more like an epic poem than a novel meaning that the reading is more dense than any of the other novels on the list. It took me days to read sections that would normally only take me hours. Nonetheless, the writing and the characterization in the novel were really shining points. At times that I felt bogged down by the content, I reveled in the fact that Mengiste took care to carefully craft her narrative and her ensemble cast. Unlike other books we have read on the list, Mengiste gives her multitude of characters a background and jobs to do that are also useful to the plot. I also would like to highlight that I do not dislike how the book is written. I think writing this story like an epic poem is extremely interesting as it is the format that best highlights the hero’s journey, the battle, and the tragedy. Therefore, the style of the writing was extremely interesting but the content was just too much to digest. 

Unlike other books I am not sure if there was a theme or main points to grasp, but a focal point was the strength of women and their mass underestimation. From the beginning, Aster is told that she has no place strategizing with the men and all of her efforts should be turned toward more womanly details like fetching the water or cooking the meals. Day after day, Aster and even Hirut, when she is allowed to speak, offer reasonable solutions to problems and valiant ideas to strengthen their war effort, but they are still ignored. Hirut’s one idea is taken into account (to fake the emperor returning to Ethiopia), but this plan is the one that leads to her and Aster’s capture where many unspeakable things happen to them. Perhaps in a less myopic view, this book can really be highlighting the cruelty of human beings. War, in general, really illustrates the worst in humanity and this novel does not shy away from driving that point home. When the war begins, Kidane’s anger becomes uncontrollable and his apathy towards Aster is palpable. He constantly dismisses his wife and his generals, he rapes Hirut whenever he is frustrated, and he even whips someone after they didn’t do what he expected them to. But this is not just a phenomenon on the Ethiopian side, the cruelty is just as bad on the Italian side: they take pictures of the murdered, torture countless prisoners, and relentlessly pursue Ethiopian land. If Mengiste was not taking the time to highlight how often women are oppressed in situations where they could be the most useful, she did a great job highlighting how war can turn people into warped versions of themselves.

To conclude, this was the only book I did not finish on the Booker Prize shortlist simply because of the time restraint. Due to Mengiste’s writing, though, I do have plans to finish the novel when I have more time. I was very enthralled to see the women have more of a role in the novel and it seems part three is leading up to that. I really empathize with Hirut and Aster and I am hoping to see a more cordial relationship bloom between them when Aster realizes that Kidane is awful and she does not have to suffer through his cruelty.