shutupdivs 's review for:

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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let me tell you this. i wept, and continue to weep as i write this. and i think it is the photographs; the native misery and italian conceit that is immortalised in them, the unfiltered potrayal of war. i don't think i can wish ettore's life on my worst enemy. the prose is lyrical and fitting for a modern epic, the characterisation is insane. hirut is a character who will stay with me for a long time; hirut, daughter of fasil and getey, famed guard of the shadow king, an amazon warrior reborn, she who will not let the ferenjoch defile the purity of mother ethiopia. i only wish the book had stayed true to its blurb towards the second half of the book. 
side note : hirut x aklilu best couple