In this indelible memoir that recalls the life of her remarkable 95-year old grandmother, Guardian journalist Aida Edemariam tells the story of modern Ethiopia—a nation that would undergo a tumultuous transformation from feudalism to monarchy to Marxist revolution to democracy, over the course of a single century.
Born in 1916, Yetemegnu was married and had given birth before she turned 15. As the daughter of a socially prominent man, she offered her husband, a poor yet gifted student, the opportunity to become an important religious leader.
She would endure extraordinary trials: deaths of some of her children; her husband’s imprisonment; and her son’s detention. She witnessed the Fascist invasion and the resistance, suffered Allied bombardment and exile; lived through a bloody revolution and the nationalization of her land. She gained audiences with the Emperor to argue for justice for her husband, for revenge, and for her children’s security, and fought court battles to defend her assets against powerful men.
Told in Yetemegnu’s enthralling voice and filled with a vivid cast of characters—emperors and empresses, priests and archbishops, scholars and slaves, Marxist revolutionaries and wartime double agents—The Wife’s Tale introduces a woman both imperious and vulnerable; a mother, widow, and businesswoman whose faith and numerous travails never quashed her love of laughter, mischief and dancing; a fighter whose life was shaped by contact with the volatile events that transformed her nation.
An intimate memoir that offers a panoramic view of Ethiopia’s recent history, The Wife’s Tale takes us deep into the landscape, rituals, social classes, and culture of this ancient, often mischaracterized, richly complex, and unforgettable land—and into the heart of one indomitable woman.
“An ambitious, elegantly descriptive… profoundly lyrical narrative…Edemariam’s book offers a glimpse into a singularly fascinating culture and history as it celebrates the courage, resilience, and grace of an extraordinary woman.” —Kirkus Reviews
(Group read suggestion from Beth McCrea, book club co-founder.)
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