Maaza Mengiste’s novel The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker prize reclaims a piece of Ethiopian history. In 1935 war is looming and Mussolini’s forces have crossed the Mareb River in the 2nd Italian invasion of Ethiopia. The Ethiopians launched a counterattack and surprisingly, women, including Mengiste’s own grandmother, also fought in the conflict.
The story begins in 1974…