The setting is Addis Ababa in 1974, the year of the Communist revolution headed by madman Mengistu Haile Mariam. The book reminded me of the people we knew who had lived through the military revolt against the Emperor Haile Selassie and were members of the “Proletariat” who eked out existence in an Addis of 1984. I was riveted for those reasons and because I knew the locales, but Mengiste is a fine writer who makes this novel a page-turner. Long Live International Proletarianism, indeed!![12/10]
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