Book Two

In this book, we are able to see the war worsen and the toll it is taking on everyone involved. For the first time, we get mentions of the persecution of Jewish people which I thought was really interesting as I didn’t think it wasn’t going to be mentioned in this book. We also see how Kidane’s army deals with the many deaths that come with a war- when Takiru is taken and lynched the response to the Italians is brutal which seems to only worsen the war.

One thing that seemed to be reoccurring was Kidane’s anger and how it manifests. When things start going wrong, he starts taking his frustration out on Hirut by raping her. Not only is this obviously very wrong, but it is an extreme betrayal of trust since he postured himself as a close family friend to Hirut. Not to mention, Aster sees Kidane’s proclivity to take advantage of Hirut as a rejection and thus takes HER anger out on Hirut as well. Overall, Hirut is stuck between these two and the receiving ends of their rage.

Lastly, we finally get an explanation for the name of the novel. During a really heated discussion between the group, Kidane pulls out a picture of himself with the emperor to prove his status which causes Hirut to realize that Minim (the musician) looks just like the emperor. This causes Kidane to realize that they can use Minim as a double or a “shadow king” to convince everyone that the emperor has not fled Ethiopia and that they are still a fortified country. With this mission, Kidane decides to send Aster and Hirut together with Minim as “soldiers”. This was a very interesting choice since the two never really got along and their relationship is not in any place to get better because of his actions, but they work together to make the plan successful.

Things I Liked:

• Even though it was a little confusing, I thought it was interesting to see the Italian perspective when they captured Takiru. We also were able to see a new character, Fifi, who is having an intimate relationship with an Italian soldier and has been intimate with Kidane. This will be interesting information to have if/when Fifi interacts with Kidane to see if she is a spy or a double agent (also I’m pretty sure her cook is Aster’s cook)

Things I Disliked:

• Kidane

• It is still very hard to read this book. In fact, this reading log is late because it is taking me so long to read it. I think it’s a shame that it is so complicated to get through, though, because I do find myself interested to know what will happen next it’s just every chapter feels like a mini book.