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A review by rhodaj
Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste
4.0
This was my read the world selection for Ethiopia.
In Addis Ababa in 1974, as the country is on the brink of a revolution, Hailu is a doctor who is losing his wife to illness. As chaos and bloodshed descend, Hailu’s two sons respond in very different ways. Yonas, the older son retreats to the prayer room and pleads for an end to the violence. Dawit, the younger son responds by joining an underground resistance movement.
When Hailu helps a victim of state-sanctioned torture to die, he is ordered to report to jail and conflict escalates both inside and outside of his family and they are forced to examine the bonds of family and friendship.
There is not a lot of plot to this story and it is more an examination and experience of the conflict from the perspective of several family members. This is an interesting way to learn about history, despite this being a work of fiction.
Although I liked the characters, I didn’t feel fully engaged with them until a long way into the book and even then, I can’t say they really leapt off the page for me. I did find this book interesting (and rather gruesome at times), but I never felt as emotionally connected to it as I would have liked to have been. Despite this, the author has a lovely writing style that I enjoyed reading and although it’s more a 3.75 rating for me, I’m rounding it up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
In Addis Ababa in 1974, as the country is on the brink of a revolution, Hailu is a doctor who is losing his wife to illness. As chaos and bloodshed descend, Hailu’s two sons respond in very different ways. Yonas, the older son retreats to the prayer room and pleads for an end to the violence. Dawit, the younger son responds by joining an underground resistance movement.
When Hailu helps a victim of state-sanctioned torture to die, he is ordered to report to jail and conflict escalates both inside and outside of his family and they are forced to examine the bonds of family and friendship.
There is not a lot of plot to this story and it is more an examination and experience of the conflict from the perspective of several family members. This is an interesting way to learn about history, despite this being a work of fiction.
Although I liked the characters, I didn’t feel fully engaged with them until a long way into the book and even then, I can’t say they really leapt off the page for me. I did find this book interesting (and rather gruesome at times), but I never felt as emotionally connected to it as I would have liked to have been. Despite this, the author has a lovely writing style that I enjoyed reading and although it’s more a 3.75 rating for me, I’m rounding it up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.