I took my time reading the magnificent wonder that is @MaazaMengiste book #TheShadowKing. I imagine teaching it in the comparative African literatures class I teach entitled “How to Read and Write About Africa”

There is just so much in this novel: the history of Ethiopians rising up against Italian invasion, an intimate portrayal of how women participate in war, a stirring account of the racist and patriarchal violence of colonialism. #TheShadowKing @MaazaMengiste

As if all of this wasn’t rich enough #TheShadowKing is a deft exploration of visual culture & use of photography in war. The novel documents photographs challenging the reader to see differently. Much has been written abt photographic images & colonialism @MaazaMengiste adds 2

#TheShadowKing @MaazaMengiste is also a book about #rapeculture during conflict & in peace time which made me think about Chauvet’s Colère, @Lynnbrooklyn play Ruined, Koffi Kwahulé’s play Les Recluses and others

As always @MaazaMengiste prose is exquisite. There were so many passages that moved me while reading #TheShadowKing I cannot recommend it’s enough. A book about resistance, uprising & how women and girls figure in history.