The Shadow King

Written by award-winning Ethiopian scholar and author Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King illuminates the role of female soldiers in the second Italo-Ethiopian War. Though it is a work of literary fiction, it is inspired by tales of Mengiste’s own grandmother, Getey, and others who served in the conflict. Blending elements of epic literature, Greek drama, and opera, the novel follows characters on both sides of the conflict to examine The Role of Women in War and History, The Moral Complexities of War, and Personal and National Identity in Times of War. Published by W.W. Norton and Company in 2019, the novel was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.

This guide refers to the Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source novel and this guide include descriptions of war violence, sexual assault, and other harsh realities of conflict.

Plot Summary

Told in nonlinear narrative from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, The Shadow King follows the characters Aster, Kidane, Haile Selassie, and Hirut on the Ethiopian side of the second Italo-Ethiopian War, and Colonel

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