Beneath the Lion's Gaze

In the events following the 1974 Ethiopian coup, a doctor is taken prisoner by the new government, and a young revolutionary faces the anger of his friends and neighbors. The simple grace of Steven Crossley's voice puts the emphasis on the lives and moral elements depicted in Maaza Mengiste's novel. However, the brutality of the communist revolution--with its torture, executions, and terror becoming a part of daily Ethiopian life--will hit listeners hard. Crossley powerfully delivers Mengiste's descriptions and insights into the decisions Ethiopians had to make as they faced oppression. In particular, Crossley's performance enhances the novel's blend of elegance and violence, a combination that brings this tragic historic event alive in a way that headlines and history books cannot. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 12, 2009
Ethiopia's 1974 revolution tears a family in half in this striking debut. Drought, famine and mutiny in the military are stretching Emperor Haile Selassie's regime to the breaking point, and when it finally tears, Hailu, a skilled and respected doctor in Addis Ababa, must find a way to shepherd his extended family through the ensuing violence. His task is made no easier by the fact that his son Dawit's fiery youthful convictions place him at odds with his more circumspect older brother, Yonas, a university professor with a wife and child. But when soldiers request Hailu to treat a gruesomely tortured political prisoner, he makes a fateful choice that puts his family in the military junta's crosshairs. Mengiste is as adept at crafting emotionally delicate moments as she is deft at portraying the tense and grim historical material, while her judicious sprinkling of lyricism imbues this novel with a vivid atmosphere that is distinct without becoming overpowering. That the novel subjects the reader to the same feelings of hopelessness and despair that its characters grapple with is a grand testament to Mengiste's talent.