![]() First edition cover | |
Author | Maaza Mengiste |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Historical novel |
Set in | Ethiopia |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Publication date | September 24, 2019 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 448 |
ISBN | 978-0-393-08356-9 |
OCLC | 1084322904 |
813/.6 | |
LC Class | PS3613.E488 S53 2019 |
Preceded by | Beneath the Lion's Gaze (2010) |
Followed by | Addis Ababa Noir (2020) |
The Shadow King is a 2019 novel by Ethiopian-American writer Maaza Mengiste, published by W. W. Norton & Company on September 24, 2019. [1] It was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. [2]
The novel focuses on the Second Italo-Ethiopian War which resulted in the Ethiopians putting an end to Italian occupation.
Namwali Serpell, writing for The New York Times, described the novel as 'lyrical' and 'remarkable'. [3]
Alex Clark, in The Guardian, described the novel as 'absorbing' and said that Mengiste's achievement was to "bring to life those women, and to depict them as dynamic entities". [4]
In April 2020, it was announced that Kasi Lemmons would direct a film adaptation of The Shadow King. [5]