Maaza Mengiste

Présence durant l'édition :

Maaza Mengiste is the author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and a recipient of the American Academy of Arts & Letters Award in Literature, as well as a LA Times Books Prize finalist. It was named a Best Book of 2019 by New York Times, NPR, Time, Elle, and other publications. Beneath the Lion's Gaze, her debut, was selected by the Guardian as one of the 10 best contemporary African books. Maaza has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, DAAD, the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, and the Fulbright Scholar Program. She is at work on her new novel.

The Shadow king (Canongate)

Set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King takes us back to the first real conflict of World War II, casting light on the women soldiers who were left out of the historical record. At its heart is orphaned maid Hirut, who finds herself tumbling into a new world of thefts and violations, of betrayals and overwhelming rage. What follows is a heartrending and unputdownable exploration of what it means to be a woman at war.

(Photo © Nina Subin)