Books: The Shadown King & Beneath the Lion's Gaza

Women Fighting Fascism

The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

Full disclosure: Maaza Mengiste is a dear friend of mine. So while I have every reason to be utterly biased in raving about these two incredible novels, it is for another reason that I urge you to read them.

I have often said that the January 25, 2011 Revolution in Egypt was a lifelong dream of so many of us in my country of birth, as were the other revolutions that sprang across the region after a Tunisian man set himself on fire in December 2010. I rarely use the term "Arab Spring" because not everyone who rose up identifies as Arab and revolutions are not seasons or colours or flowers and the phrase "Arab Spring" has too often been used against us as "Arab Winter" etc to signal the "failure" of something that very much continues. Revolutions are not something that start suddenly or end suddenly and too many (men) political analysts are more concerned with regime change than with the people change that revolutions bring about.