“An endearing coming-of-age story. . . . Sharp and witty. . . . A wily and operatic novel. . . . Propulsive.” —The Washington Post
"The History of a Difficult Child is an extraordinary novel." —Maaza Mengiste, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Shadow King
“An exhilarating novel by a powerful new writer.” —Elif Batuman, author of Pulitzer-Prize finalist The Idiot and Either/Or
A breathtaking, tragicomic debut novel about the indomitable child of a scorned, formerly land-owning family who must grow up in the wake of Ethiopia’s socialist revolution
Wisecracking, inquisitive, and bombastic, Selam Asmelash is the youngest child in her large, boisterous family. Even before she is born, she has a wry, bewitching omniscience that animates life in her Small Town in southwestern Ethiopia in the 1980s. Selam and her father listen to the radio in secret as the socialist military junta that recently overthrew the government seizes properties and wages civil war in the North. The Asmelashes, once an enterprising, land-owning family, are ostracized under the new regime. In the Small Town where they live, nosy women convene around coffee ceremonies multiple times a day, the gossip spreading like wildfire.
As Selam’s mother, the powerful and relentlessly dignified Degitu, grows ill, she embraces a persecuted, Pentecostal God and insists her family convert alongside her. The Asmelashes stand solidly in opposition to the times, and Selam grows up seeking revenge on despotic comrades, neighborhood bullies, and a ruthless God. Wise beyond her years yet thoroughly naive, she contends with an inner fury, a profound sadness, and a throbbing, unstoppable pursuit of education, freedom, and love.
Told through the perspective of its charming and irresistible narrator, The History of a Difficult Child is about what happens when mother, God, and country are at odds, and how one difficult child finds her voice.
Genre: Literary Fiction
"The History of a Difficult Child is an extraordinary novel." —Maaza Mengiste, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Shadow King
“An exhilarating novel by a powerful new writer.” —Elif Batuman, author of Pulitzer-Prize finalist The Idiot and Either/Or
A breathtaking, tragicomic debut novel about the indomitable child of a scorned, formerly land-owning family who must grow up in the wake of Ethiopia’s socialist revolution
Wisecracking, inquisitive, and bombastic, Selam Asmelash is the youngest child in her large, boisterous family. Even before she is born, she has a wry, bewitching omniscience that animates life in her Small Town in southwestern Ethiopia in the 1980s. Selam and her father listen to the radio in secret as the socialist military junta that recently overthrew the government seizes properties and wages civil war in the North. The Asmelashes, once an enterprising, land-owning family, are ostracized under the new regime. In the Small Town where they live, nosy women convene around coffee ceremonies multiple times a day, the gossip spreading like wildfire.
As Selam’s mother, the powerful and relentlessly dignified Degitu, grows ill, she embraces a persecuted, Pentecostal God and insists her family convert alongside her. The Asmelashes stand solidly in opposition to the times, and Selam grows up seeking revenge on despotic comrades, neighborhood bullies, and a ruthless God. Wise beyond her years yet thoroughly naive, she contends with an inner fury, a profound sadness, and a throbbing, unstoppable pursuit of education, freedom, and love.
Told through the perspective of its charming and irresistible narrator, The History of a Difficult Child is about what happens when mother, God, and country are at odds, and how one difficult child finds her voice.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"Mihret Sibhat's The History of a Difficult Child signals the emergence of a major new writing talent. Not only does the novel confront history, masculinity, and gender in refreshing but uncompromising ways, it also has a remarkably original voice, fresh and irreverent. This, combined with the unexpected reimagining of the novel form, her elegant and accessible language, and her deft hand at tragicomedy, ensures Sibhat will soon be one of the most influential voices in the literature of Africa. I am sure this is only the first of many important books that will come from this gifted writer." - Chris Abani
"An exhilarating novel by a powerful new writer." - Elif Batuman
"An unexpected and hilarious voice with a velocity all its own. You won't soon forget brutally frank Selam, or Mihret Sibhat's razor-sharp wit. The History of a Difficulty Child is tender and merciless, full of human and political insight. I couldn't stop turning the pages." - V V Ganeshananthan
"Mihret Sibhat's beautifully rendered first novel, The History of A Difficult Child, is as rich and complicated as they come - a novel that delves fearlessly, with so much grace and compassion, into the most essential corners of our lives, the ones where family, politics, culture, and love are inextricably intertwined." - Dinaw Mengestu
"The History of a Difficult Child is an extraordinary novel. It is at once a story of a sharp-witted young girl trying to hold herself together during political upheaval, and an achingly tender tale of community, family, grief and forgiveness. Its most striking achievement, however, rests in young Selam's insistence that rebelliousness and nonconformity might, after all, be the greatest expressions of love." - Maaza Mengiste
"Selam, Mihret Sibhat's ferociously witty young narrator, depicts her family's religious and political struggles in Ethiopia in extraordinarily rich and original prose. The History of a Difficult Child is deeply moving as well as hilarious. This is a one-of-a-kind must-read debut." - Julie Schumacher
"An exhilarating novel by a powerful new writer." - Elif Batuman
"An unexpected and hilarious voice with a velocity all its own. You won't soon forget brutally frank Selam, or Mihret Sibhat's razor-sharp wit. The History of a Difficulty Child is tender and merciless, full of human and political insight. I couldn't stop turning the pages." - V V Ganeshananthan
"Mihret Sibhat's beautifully rendered first novel, The History of A Difficult Child, is as rich and complicated as they come - a novel that delves fearlessly, with so much grace and compassion, into the most essential corners of our lives, the ones where family, politics, culture, and love are inextricably intertwined." - Dinaw Mengestu
"The History of a Difficult Child is an extraordinary novel. It is at once a story of a sharp-witted young girl trying to hold herself together during political upheaval, and an achingly tender tale of community, family, grief and forgiveness. Its most striking achievement, however, rests in young Selam's insistence that rebelliousness and nonconformity might, after all, be the greatest expressions of love." - Maaza Mengiste
"Selam, Mihret Sibhat's ferociously witty young narrator, depicts her family's religious and political struggles in Ethiopia in extraordinarily rich and original prose. The History of a Difficult Child is deeply moving as well as hilarious. This is a one-of-a-kind must-read debut." - Julie Schumacher
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