A review by farkle
Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

3.0

This was my second Ethiopia book. At first it read as if was another character's story, set in the same place and time, their lives overlapping. But unlike Cutting for Stone, Mengiste's book shows glimpses of many characters, how their lives intersect and diverge only to come back together again. There is no coming up for air in this book. The weight of history bears down; the weight of each action and its consequence a burden for each characters. The author confronts memories of this time, which may have been better left in the past, but she brings to light a country and period that deserves to be remembered specifically for its tragedies and horrors.