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eldaaurora97 's review for:
The Wife's Tale: A Personal History
by Aida Edemariam
"She laughed, a laugh that took her hover as utterly as her tears had a moment earlier. A complicated laugh, deep and delighted but serious also, for in fact she was still afraid and always would be; because she remembered the child she had been so clearly; because in many ways she was still that child"
Naturally, I was excited to read this book. A woman growing up in Ethiopia and witnessing the seminal events of the last century, told by her own granddaughter. It really connected a lot of what I was, both as a family member and as an Ethiopian. Reading the title, "The Wife's Tale" also sounded interesting, as it gave a point of view from someone who otherwise would be easily forgotten.
It begins, quite quickly, with Yetemegnu's wedding, seeing she was a rural peasant girl. The narration implies that she was lost in all of it, and it was clear through the near-lack of dialogue. Going through the book, it made some sense, because it wasn't quite remembered as easily nor considered significant to the storyline. It sort of made me feel lost, however, because it seemed like different things blended together. Aida's writing does have a strong point: she gives vivid descriptions of what Ethiopian society was during that time, along with all the rituals and cultural practices that accompanied it.
When looking at the life of Yetemegnu, it initially seems like that she follows the same path many women would take: she would get married young and have children, preferably sons. Therefore, while I was taken into her world where she struggled to give birth and raise her children, I was kind of waiting to see when she begins to take her own. My guess was that it was when Tsega gets arrested; and she tries to advocate for his release. It was an interesting journey, in that one would see how petitions to the Emperor worked, but it proved to be unfruitful.
Another great part of the biography which Aida emphasized was religion. While I was born into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, most of my life had been part in the secular world, and I would prefer to have nothing to do with it. Aida includes quotes from Ethiopian stories of Mary's life, and intersperses them with Yetemegnu's own. One quote which piqued my interest was this one:
"All her life she had listened, rapt, to the lives of the female saints, of Zenna Mariam, Fiqirte Christos, Welete Petros--fierce women, many of them, beautiful and well-born, pious mothers who left their children and the world to become nuns. And especially Christos Semra, mother to eleven, who after she became a nun at the monastery of Debre Libanos submerged herself entire in the waters of Lake Tana and prayed without sustenance for eight years before rising onto the island of Gwangut, where she founded a convent and was vouchsafed many miracles and visions." (169).
It also played a role with the literary cadres in the 1970s: "It was as though an angel had algihted on her shoulder and with a sweep of his wings unveiled a new dimension" (269), as she read religious works. However, this is telling about women then as to a certain extent, now--their roles were relegated to home and church.
"Wife, mother--imposed roles, unquestioned and in her time unquestionable; passive, in a way, however fully inhabited and lovingly dispatched. She gave her daughters and granddaughters the chance of something different, and in making that gift separated them from her in fundamental ways." (293).
If you were expecting to have a dramatic memoir from "The Wife's Tale", about a woman overcoming the odds in some way to achieve something extraordinary, then this is not what you will get. Instead, you could expect a colorful life dealing with the normalities of a rural life, but with a lot of details of what was going in Ethiopia during the time. Aida also inserts herself into it; both in the Pagume chapters and just after she was born; but in the latter, it felt jarring with the switch in point of view. But overall, it's a good read. (7/10)
Naturally, I was excited to read this book. A woman growing up in Ethiopia and witnessing the seminal events of the last century, told by her own granddaughter. It really connected a lot of what I was, both as a family member and as an Ethiopian. Reading the title, "The Wife's Tale" also sounded interesting, as it gave a point of view from someone who otherwise would be easily forgotten.
It begins, quite quickly, with Yetemegnu's wedding, seeing she was a rural peasant girl. The narration implies that she was lost in all of it, and it was clear through the near-lack of dialogue. Going through the book, it made some sense, because it wasn't quite remembered as easily nor considered significant to the storyline. It sort of made me feel lost, however, because it seemed like different things blended together. Aida's writing does have a strong point: she gives vivid descriptions of what Ethiopian society was during that time, along with all the rituals and cultural practices that accompanied it.
When looking at the life of Yetemegnu, it initially seems like that she follows the same path many women would take: she would get married young and have children, preferably sons. Therefore, while I was taken into her world where she struggled to give birth and raise her children, I was kind of waiting to see when she begins to take her own. My guess was that it was when Tsega gets arrested; and she tries to advocate for his release. It was an interesting journey, in that one would see how petitions to the Emperor worked, but it proved to be unfruitful.
Another great part of the biography which Aida emphasized was religion. While I was born into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, most of my life had been part in the secular world, and I would prefer to have nothing to do with it. Aida includes quotes from Ethiopian stories of Mary's life, and intersperses them with Yetemegnu's own. One quote which piqued my interest was this one:
"All her life she had listened, rapt, to the lives of the female saints, of Zenna Mariam, Fiqirte Christos, Welete Petros--fierce women, many of them, beautiful and well-born, pious mothers who left their children and the world to become nuns. And especially Christos Semra, mother to eleven, who after she became a nun at the monastery of Debre Libanos submerged herself entire in the waters of Lake Tana and prayed without sustenance for eight years before rising onto the island of Gwangut, where she founded a convent and was vouchsafed many miracles and visions." (169).
It also played a role with the literary cadres in the 1970s: "It was as though an angel had algihted on her shoulder and with a sweep of his wings unveiled a new dimension" (269), as she read religious works. However, this is telling about women then as to a certain extent, now--their roles were relegated to home and church.
"Wife, mother--imposed roles, unquestioned and in her time unquestionable; passive, in a way, however fully inhabited and lovingly dispatched. She gave her daughters and granddaughters the chance of something different, and in making that gift separated them from her in fundamental ways." (293).
If you were expecting to have a dramatic memoir from "The Wife's Tale", about a woman overcoming the odds in some way to achieve something extraordinary, then this is not what you will get. Instead, you could expect a colorful life dealing with the normalities of a rural life, but with a lot of details of what was going in Ethiopia during the time. Aida also inserts herself into it; both in the Pagume chapters and just after she was born; but in the latter, it felt jarring with the switch in point of view. But overall, it's a good read. (7/10)