| The Shadow King | |
| Author: | Maaza Mengiste |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Historical novel |
| Set In: | Ethiopia |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Pub Date: | September 24, 2019 |
| Pages: | 448 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-393-08356-9 |
| Oclc: | 1084322904 |
| Dewey: | 813/.6 |
| Congress: | PS3613.E488 S53 2019 |
| Preceded By: | Beneath the Lion's Gaze (2010) |
| Followed By: | Addis Ababa Noir (2020) |
The Shadow King is a 2019 novel by Ethiopian-American writer Maaza Mengiste, published by W. W. Norton & Company on September 24, 2019.[1] It was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.[2]
The novel focuses on the Second Italo-Ethiopian War which resulted in the Ethiopians putting an end to Italian occupation.
Namwali Serpell, writing for The New York Times, described the novel as 'lyrical' and 'remarkable'.[3]
Alex Clark, in The Guardian, described the novel as 'absorbing' and said that Mengiste's achievement was to "bring to life those women, and to depict them as dynamic entities".[4]
In April 2020, it was announced that Kasi Lemmons would direct a film adaptation of The Shadow King.[5]