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The God who begat a Jackal : a novel / Nega Mezlekia.

Van Pelt Library PR9199.4.M49 G63 2002
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Mezlekia, Nega, 1958-
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Ethnic relations--Fiction.
Ethnic relations.
History.
Gods, African.
Ethiopia.
Social classes--Fiction.
Social classes.
Gods, African--Fiction.
Enslaved persons--Fiction.
Enslaved persons.
Ethiopia--History--1490-1889--Fiction.
Genre:
Fiction.
Historical fiction.
Love stories.
Physical Description:
viii, 242 pages ; 22 cm
Edition:
First edition.
Place of Publication:
New York : Picador, 2002.
Summary:
Last year in The New York Times Book Review, Nega Mezlekia's memoir, Notes from the Hyena's Belly, was described as "the most riveting book about Ethiopia since Ryszard Kapuscinski's literary allegory The Emperor and the most distinguished African literary memoir since Soyinka's Ake appeared twenty years ago." Now, from the author of the hugely acclaimed memoir, comes a first novel steeped in African folklore and teeming with the class, ethnic, and religious struggles of precolonial Africa.
In The God Who Begat a Jackal, the seventeenth-century feudal system, vassal uprisings, religious mythology, and the Crusades are beautifully intertwined with the intense love between Aster, the daughter of a feudal lord, and Gudu, the court jester and family slave. Aster and Gudu's relationship is the ultimate taboo, but supernatural elements galore presage a destiny more powerful than the rule of man.
With Mezlekia's enchanting storytelling and ironic humor, readers glimpse African deities that have long since weathered away and the social cleavages that have endured through time. This is a captivating work from a major new international novelist.
Contents:
Book 1 Stardust
Devil in the Wilderness 3
Strange Bundle of Joy 13
The Stuff of Legend 23
Unattended Daisy 31
Book 2 Moonbeams
Riddles and Deception 39
Patron Saint of Salt Miners 53
A Lowly God 63
A Caring Jacana 73
Book 3 Intrigues
A For Bidden Affair 87
A Changing Diviner 95
Pesky Peasants 103
Green and Alive 111
A Husband for Aster 121
The Last Laugh 131
Book 4 Revelations
Inquisitors 143
Holy Smoke 153
The Saintly Slave 161
The Three Abettors 167
Book 5 Vprising
The Feared One 177
Taking Care of Aster 185
Dung Beetle 193
Letting Down the Guard 203
Delirium 215
Shifting Winds 225.
ISBN:
0312287011
OCLC:
48398932

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