Notable Fiction Zoom meeting: Sunday, March 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m to discuss The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

With Mussolini's army looming on Ethiopia, recently orphaned Hirut struggles to adapt to a new life as a maid to Kidane and his wife Aster. Kidane, an officer in Emperor Haile Selassie's army, mobilizes his strongest men before the Italians invade. His initial kindness to Hirut shifts into cruelty when she resists his advances. Hirut finds herself tumbling into a new world of thefts and violations, of betrayals and rage. As the war begins in earnest, the Emperor goes into exile and Ethiopia quickly loses hope. Hirut helps disguise a gentle peasant as the emperor and soon becomes his guard, inspiring other women to take up arms against the Italians.

Contact: ljspublic@earthlink.net   Email to add your name to the Notable Fiction list and you can then be sent a Zoom invite to this meeting and upcoming meetings. We will email out questions about the novel a few days before the meeting. This is a timely conversation and should be a good meeting. Please join us.

Availability Book is on order at the Circulation Desk at Rockport Library. Please follow Library’s Covid-19 procedures to pick up a copy.