Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

Abstract

tellsherstory in first-person, peelingawaylayers ofchildhood confusionas shecomestounderstand the worldshelivesinandwhosheisin that world. Just as vividareitsother characters: Flo's mother, Martha, and father, Win;hergrandparents, Mimiand Grandpops; theirmaid, Zenie,herhusband, Ray,and their niece,Eva. EventhemoreperipheralMissJosephine , theGreats, Big Dan,MissKayLinda, andothers are exquisitely drawn,as is theSouth they inhabit inall itssmells, tastes, sounds,and complexcultural contradiction . I won't tell you what happens ,or how. OnlythatI believe The Queen ofPalmyrato be among thehalf-dozen great novelsofthese times. Thefreed spirit finds itsway outoftherug. Margaret Randall Albuquerque, NewMexico Maaza Mengiste. Beneath the Lion's Gaze. New York.W.W. Norton. 2010. 308 pages. $24.95. isbn 978-0-39307176 -4 Ethiopia twiceresisted Italy'scolonialcampaigns , holding ittojusta four-year occupation (1937-41). Yet the later history ofthis proud ancient state hassadlyresembled that ofits postcolonial neighbors: a weakened kingdomsupportedby the bourgeoisie à la Fanon,risingdiscontentamongtheyouthand poor,a military coup "forthepeople"that installs a totalitarian regime, inevitableresistance , anda newcycleof violence. Maaza Mengiste's riveting debutnovelunfolds in 1974,when theailingregime ofthelegendary butelderly emperor Haile Selassie suffers itsdeath-blow after underground footage ofEthiopian famine victims airson nationaltelevision. As student and military opposition intensifies, the military ousts the government. Promising a people's republic, theSoviet-influenced military junta known astheDerginstead crushesall opposition(including theformer emperor himself, whose Lear-like ruminationsMengiste hauntingly evokes),and spawnsa culture ofterror that encourages all tospyononeanother. Beneaththe Lion's Gaze traces theimpactoftheseeventson one middle-class family inAddisAbaba. Before thecoup,thepatriarch, Hailu, a quietlyresolutedoctorwith a dyingwifewhomhe triesto keep alivedespite herdesirefor peace,at first half-heartedly defends thegovernment against theharshcritiques of his younger son,Dawit,a studentrevolutionary . Yonas,theolder son, strivesto keep his wifeand small daughtersafe,whichearns Dawit'scontempt, whileMickey, the poor,fatherless boywholiveswithin their compound and has grown up withDawit,cravessecurity and so joinsthemilitary. Sara,Yonas's wife, whosemother fought fiercely againsttheItalians, longsonlyfor the well-being ofhersmalldaughter, and Dawit'sgirlfriend, Lily,shares hisopposition tothegovernment. ButtheendofSelassieempowers the Derg and triggers change within thesecharacters. Hailuhelps a horribly tortured girltodie,thus dooming himself toprison and torture until a ghastly mistake isuncovered . Dawit becomesincreasingly disenchanted withthe Derg, and Sara,likewise horrified atitsactions, putsherfamily at riskby helping himto collect and burybodiesthe military callouslytossesonto city roads.Mickey, meanwhile, at first a reluctant participant in thecoup, now enforces thenew rules.Lily, hqrìeìeh "ave.- ROBERTO ^^^HH ■ "ave.- ROBERTO ^^^HH m too,becomesa loyalist. Suggesting that intime theDergwilllearn "true socialism" andmaintaining that the people will farebetter underthe new system, sheacceptsa governmentfellowship formedicalschool in Cuba. A finalmoment of crisis forces Hailu,Yonas,and Dawitto actagainst their established characters , although, giventhepiecesset inplace,onemayforesee this end. Whilethecharacters inBeneath the Lion's Gaze follow predictable trajectories, Maaza Mengiste endowsthem withsufficient depth to claimour attention evenas we anticipate theiroutcomes. Despite deploying familiar plotdevices - for example, therivalry oftwobrothers, best friends who chooseopposite sides,and the requisitestubborn elderson thefringe whohelpoutwittheDerg - Mengiste vividly recreates thehorrors from whichher ownfamily fledwhenshewas four years old. Michele Levy North Carolina A&T University Mike Nicol. Payback. Roggebaai, South Africa/ London. Umuzi / Old Street.2008 / 2010. 333 / 432 pages. R170 / £7.99. ISBN 978-141520046-9 / 1-906964-16-0 Ata panelofcrime fiction writers at theCape TownInternational Book Fair, anauthor spokeofa trick that she had playedon hereditor. For a treatment ofhernextnovel,she retyped thefacts from a newspaper article abouta recent murder. The editorrejected thestory, callingit implausible. Therewould be too manyunlikely coincidences forthe readerto overcome. It would feel contrived. Suchis one ofthemanychallengesof writing in SouthAfrica today.Therealcrime - thecountry suffers from oneofthehighest murderratesin theworld - can prove infinitely morecreative and awful than themade-up stuff. Yet SouthAfrican writers like Mike Nicol have been takingthe genreseriouslyforyears.Nicol 's Payback, thefirst ofa trilogy, representsan inspired effort toweavea story from thefilaments oflanguage, class,andviolence that pervadethe city ofCapeTown. Inthe story, Mace Bishop(who is white)and Pylon Buso (whois black)runa security serviceforhigh-class tourists who wanttoenjoy thebeaches andnightclubs and avoid pettycrime.The twomacho mennowhavemortgages andfamilies, andwishtoforget their pastlifeofgunrunning fortheantiapartheid struggle. But it's not so 641WorldLiterature Today ...