Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

Beneath the Lion's Gaze

Maaza Mengiste

Poetically written, powerfully told and set against a vivid Ethiopian backdrop, this story is revealed through the eyes of one family. Emotionally gripping, it focuses on Dawit , a young man eager to prove himself to his peers and his family and to establish his sense of national identity. Tensions and loyalties collide around themes of love, death and belonging. This book delivers on both a personal and political level.

Extract
Dawit looked across the front lines, into the faces of classmates familiar and unknown, glanced at the school children who flanked them, and he felt his heart swell and a feeling close to gratitude forced tears into his throat and he had to raise his voice with the chorus of others to stop from weeping at the sight of so many who for one moment were joined in a bond as strong as family, perhaps in a union even stronger than blood.
Parallels
  • Children of the Revolution by Dinaw Mengestu
  • Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
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Violence