Summary and Reviews of The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

The Shadow King

A Novel

by Maaza Mengiste
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (11):
  • Readers' Rating (25):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 24, 2019, 448 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2020, 448 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and named a best book of the year by the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Time, and more, The Shadow King is an "unforgettable epic from an immensely talented author who's unafraid to take risks" (Michael Schaub, NPR).

Set during Mussolini's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King takes us back to the first real conflict of World War II, casting light on the women soldiers who were left out of the historical record. At its heart is orphaned maid Hirut, who finds herself tumbling into a new world of thefts and violations, of betrayals and overwhelming rage. What follows is a heartrending and unputdownable exploration of what it means to be a woman at war.

First published in hardcover, Sept 2019.

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Reviews

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While readers who approach it hoping for a straightforward work of inspiring historical fiction will be disappointed, those willing to let it take shape as what it is — a sprawling and poetic meditation on existence — will be richly rewarded. The Shadow King leverages its historical details to uncover new ways of thinking about how people arrange their inner worlds in order to preserve a sense of self. By exploring its characters' dreams, denials and constructed realities, it engages in conversation with other literature that documents the human experience on a large scale...continued

Full Review Members Only (839 words)

(Reviewed by Elisabeth Cook).

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Beyond the Book



The Fusil Gras (Wujigra) in Ethiopia

1874 Fusil Gras rifle with walnut stock and 20 inch barrel

In The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, Hirut has a particular attachment to a rifle that her father gave her, a Wujigra, which she goes out of her way to retrieve after Kidane takes it away from her while stockpiling weapons for his army. "Wujigra" is the Ethiopian term for the Fusil Gras, a French service rifle that was manufactured in the late 19th century. It is a single-shot rifle with a reputation for being robust, as is described in Mengiste's book: "A bolt-action, 11mm rifle designed to deliver a single lethal shot with consistent accuracy, a hardy gun able to withstand cold and rain, repeated and rapid firing."

The Fusil Gras was developed as an adaptation of the breech-loading Chassepot rifle and as a response to the German...

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Read-Alikes

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