Does Ethiopia even have authors? It sounds so offensive when you hear those words uttered by non-Ethiopians, right? But at the same time you can't blame them for their ignorance. The names of the prolific authors in Ethiopia such as Abba Enbaqom, Haddis Alemayehu, Sibehat GebreEgziabher, Abe Gubegnaw, Bealu Girma so on and so forth don't mean that much outside of the Ethiopian borders. Their amazing contributions to the world of literature has sadly gone unnoticed. I wonder how many Ethiopian authors the younger generation can name if asked to name a few.
Story telling is a huge part of Ethiopian culture. But why are only very few Ethiopian authors attempting to represent their country in the worldwide stage? Something to ponder on...
Beneath the Lion's Gaze, Maaza Mengiste's debut novel, opens in 1974, the year Emperor Hailesellase was overthrown by Mengistu. (It was that same year Maaza and her family were forced to flee out of the country. She was only four then.) In her book, Maaza went back to the dark years of her childhood and tried to relive them through the fictional characters she created. The novel tells a gripping tale of a serious of trials and tribulations Dr. Hailu who is a dedicated prominent physician, his family, friends and neighbors has to go through during the revolution and its aftermath. The doctor's ordeal as he deals with his dying wife, a hot-headed revolutionary son, injured granddaughter, his job and a chaos in the country takes the reader in an emotional roller-coaster ride.
It is always difficult to discuss historical facts in fictional narration especially if it involves brutality and torture. Those who lived through it know no one can vividly paint the pain and the torture exactly as they had experienced. For a writer, it is a fine line to walk on. You don't want to come off as being disrespectful. Especially for someone like Maaza, who had lived most of their lives abroad, to attempt to discuss the atrocities many wish to forget can be considered a bold move. The magnitude of the turmoil was way far beyond what she can capture in those 305 pages. After all, she is not a historian and her book is not a history book either. It was just a novel which broadly borrows from history. I think she had done a brilliant job in showing a glimpse of the horror from those dark days and the price one pays in pursuit of freedom through her fictional family's story.
She is an absolutely phenomenal writer and I extremely enjoyed the book. Definitely looking forward to reading more of her future work.
Happy Friday everyone!
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