Baalu Girma

"A modern classic" Observer"Astonishing and compelling . . . Impossible to put down" Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow KingEthiopia, 1982: After a decade of conflict, the government is determined to quash the Eritrean insurgency once and for all. As head of propaganda, it's Tsegaye's job to keep the people onside. When the Red Star Campaign lands him in Asmara, Tsegaye is swept up in the city's nightlife, the bars and coffeehouses buzzing with spies and government agents. But even as Tsegaye begins to fall in love with Asmara - and with bold, dazzling, enigmatic Fiammetta - his misgivings about the campaign grow, and soon his loyalties will be tested to their limit. Tsegaye is confronted with the horror of war when the army attacks the insurgents' mountain stronghold, and encounters betrayals that shake his faith in both the regime and human nature. A masterpiece of Ethiopian literature, Oromay is a thrilling political satire and a turbulent tale of love and war. It became an instant sensation when first published in 1983 and was quickly banned. Baalu Girma vanished in 1984, most likely kidnapped and murdered by the same regime in retaliation for this novel. Translated from Amharic by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu

A journalist finds himself embroiled in a disastrous government campaign as well as a sweeping romance in this landmark English translation of Ethiopia's most famous novel. An engrossing political thriller and a tale of love and war for readers of John Le Carr and Philip Kerr. December 1981, Ethiopia. Tsegaye Hailemaryam, a well-known journalist for the state-run media, has just landed in Asmara. He is on assignment as the head of propaganda for the Red Star campaign, a massive effort by the Ethiopian government to end the Eritrean insurgency. There, amid the city's bars and coffeehouses buzzing with spies and government agents, he juggles the demands of his superiors while trying to reassure his fianc e back home that he's not straying with Asmara's famed beauties. As Tsegaye falls in love with Asmara--and, in spite of his promises, with dazzling, enigmatic local woman Fiammetta--his misgivings about the campaign grow. Tsegaye confronts the horror of war when he is sent with an elite army unit to attack the insurgents' mountain stronghold. In the aftermath, he encounters betrayals that shake his faith in both the regime and human nature. Oromay became an instant sensation when first published in 1983 and was swiftly banned for its frank depiction of the regime. The author vanished soon thereafter; the consensus is that he was murdered in retaliation for Oromay. A sweeping and timeless story about power and betrayal in love and war, the novel remains Girma's masterpiece.

"A modern classic" Observer"Astonishing and compelling . . . Impossible to put down" Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow KingEthiopia, 1982: After a decade of conflict, the government is determined to quash the Eritrean insurgency once and for all. As head of propaganda, it's Tsegaye's job to keep the people onside. When the Red Star Campaign lands him in Asmara, Tsegaye is swept up in the city's nightlife, the bars and coffeehouses buzzing with spies and government agents. But even as Tsegaye begins to fall in love with Asmara ? and with bold, dazzling, enigmatic Fiammetta ? his misgivings about the campaign grow, and soon his loyalties will be tested to their limit. Tsegaye is confronted with the horror of war when the army attacks the insurgents' mountain stronghold, and encounters betrayals that shake his faith in both the regime and human nature. A masterpiece of Ethiopian literature, Oromay is a thrilling political satire and a turbulent tale of love and war. It became an instant sensation when first published in 1983 and was quickly banned. Baalu Girma vanished in 1984, most likely kidnapped and murdered by the same regime in retaliation for this novel. Translated from Amharic by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu