Arise, Queens! A Book Review of The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
A young woman, grown old, waits in a train station to face her past. She became an Ethiopian warrior after her first battle during World War Two, against Benito Mussolini’s soldiers. Her scars are more than markers from her journey, they are badges of loyalty and strength. Hirut is living history, as is Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King.
The Shadow King is an epic, 400 plus page, war saga set in Ethiopia between 1935 and 1974. The plot is thick and wide. The army of characters are complex. Mengiste exercises a style of weaving together multiple voices without breaking stride or page. Her newly released historical fiction should be approached battle ready.
Hirut and Aster, the main female characters who swirl through this semi fictious book, were born in opposite worlds. Hirut, born a slave, serves Aster and her husband Kidane. Aster, born to be a wife, serves Kidane. When Kidane leads a rebel army of Ethiopian warriors against the Italians, the women fall into line and their similarities rise to the surface. Both born oppressed, both women, both incredible fighters and survivors, and both have a passionate will for personal freedom.
Similar to the Greek epics, Mengiste fondly looks to for tutelage and entertainment, her characters were flawed people. We love to hate and fawn over Odysseus. Readers will love to hate and adore these revered Ethiopian warriors. And once you meet the shadow king and understand his motives, you might even sing their battle songs too.
In one incredible scene, I’ll try not to spoil it, Hirut realizes her power. She reclaims her body and independence while being raped. Not through killing her attacker or inflicted injury, rather by a form of physical indifference. What Hirut does is brave. Mengiste was wholly creative as she explored the true nature of trauma in that chapter. I rejoiced, after rereading three times, never having imagined any victory in a horrid act of sexual abuse.
“The women that rose up were not replacing a queen, they were replacing the king, who left. They were the shadow kings. The took the place of the leader.” Mengiste stated in an interview with Spotlite by Literandra. Her queens were fierce and they did not shrink away from trauma, they waged war against it.
I liked this book but it took work to get involved with the story. The sadness at the beginning was so deep, I struggled to empathize. Then confusion as to what the characters were working towards. I battled, for the first 200 pages, to stay engaged. But then Aster and Hirut and Minim and Ettore are still standing, while their cowardly leaders lose stamina and crumble. My investment in Mengiste’s novel paid off.
Mengiste knew what she was attempting with this massive historical narrative. In an interview with Alden Mudge of BookPage magazine, she explained, “I am really proud of the structure of the book. I was willing to take the risk because I wanted to push myself as a writer.” And that push took over ten years of grueling rewrites, traveling for resources and context, and doubt if readers would appreciate a new form.
The Shadow King is not a book for everyone. Mengiste comments in multiple interviews, there will be readers who love it and others who hate it. The form is very unique. The blended character lines are hard to follow. If you love a structured novel with dates at the beginning of chapters and headers that indicate shifting plot points, then stay away. But if you, like Mengiste, are up for a challenge and exposure to a new side of history, then read this work of art. Seek this book out if interested.
Another critical element to consider when picking up The Shadow King, this story is in part Mengiste’s own personal heritage. She bookends her fictional work with pictures of her own warrior grandmothers. Imagine the surge of pride a woman must feel to discover those memories tucked away in the family steamer trunk. I am thankful to this powerful author for sharing her history with readers like myself.
Here are a few books that are either similar in content or style. Enjoy!
