Starred review from December 1, 2024
Searing novel of war by dissident Ethiopian writer Girma. Part spy thriller, part melodrama, roman � clef through and through, Girma's story centers on a moment of Ethiopian history that, in that demographically young country, is all but forgotten. It is the early 1980s, and Ethiopia, under a Marxist military dictatorship, has set out to conquer neighboring Eritrea. "Every day another campaign of some sort," complains his fiancee, Roman, to a propaganda officer named Tsegaye Hailemaryam. "Now the Red Star Campaign to fix the Eritrean problem. We are addicted to campaigns, but I can't wait until we can be done with them." Caught up in the excitement of certain victory, Tsegaye jumps at the chance to go to the front, exalting the invading forces and excoriating the Eritrean resistance, which he depicts as terrorists. The soldiers in Girma's narrative are pawns, but the officers are well-rounded: One general is so militarily perfect that "even his Afro, though thinning, has sharp edges," while a schoolmate of Tsegaye's, Colonel Wolday Tariku, can't wait to fight: "Give Wolday a drink and a rifle and he is a happy man." As Roman foresees, Tsegaye forgets his vows to her and falls in love with an Eritrean beauty and Mata Hari named Fiammetta Gilay. Girma's writing is most immediate in the slaughterhouse of battle, which is not for the squeamish: "A decapitated torso with blood pumping from where a neck once was....A bullet-ridden corpse with an open mouth and unblinking eyes staring up at the red sky." As the tautly written story resolves, failure, death, and disillusionment are its constants. It's worth noting that, although the Marxist regime tried to suppress it, Girma's novel was an underground bestseller in Ethiopia in the early 1980s--and for his criticisms of that regime, Girma paid with his life. An exemplary anti-war novel from a little-known theater of conflict.
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December 16, 2024
Ethiopian writer Girma, who was born in 1939, makes his English-language debut with this gripping novel, which was originally published in 1983, a year before his disappearance. It’s a fictionalized account of the Ethiopian government’s anti-insurgent 1982 Red Star Campaign, centered on journalist Tsegaye Hailemaryam, who has just been appointed to lead the campaign’s propaganda arm in Asmara. His role gives him access to higher-ups in the Provisional Military Administration Committee, who order him to produce glowing success stories rather than ones with dry facts. The assignment makes him increasingly anxious, and his fiancé grows worried, too, prompting him to ominously tell her, “I’m lost in a jungle called the Red Star Campaign.” Meanwhile, Tsegaye has fallen in love with a mysterious local woman named Fiammetta, who seems to know more about the insurgency than she lets on. Girma’s expert plotting reaches a tense and emotional climax when Tsegaye joins the front lines: “The carnage overwhelms my mind and my heart is filled with hatred for the vicious enemy.” Readers will have a tough time putting this one down. Agent: Markus Hoffman, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc.
January 1, 2025
Banned by the Ethiopian government just days after its publication in 1983, Girma's controversial political thriller finds new life in this English translation by DeGusta and Yirgu. Oromay follows Tsegaya Hailemaryam, a journalist for the state-run media in Ethiopia, on assignment in Asmara as the head of propaganda for the Red Star Campaign. As Tsegaya settles into life in Asmara, he falls in love with both the city and a local woman named Fiametta, which is less than ideal given that he is engaged to be married to someone back home. As Tsegaya tries to balance his demanding role with his newfound desires, he becomes more disillusioned with the mission to stop the Eritrean Insurgency. This translation of Oromay from the original Amharic captures the core of what Girma intended by shedding light on a not-so-distant time in history that is not frequently discussed. Quirky characters add some lightness to an otherwise heavy plot, and this translation is sure to find a new audience for Girma's historical drama mixed with romance and intrigue.
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