What do you think?
Rate this book
The History of a Difficult Child
An exhilarating, 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.
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.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 27, 2023
85 people are currently reading
8292 people want to read
About the author
Mihret Sibhat
1 book44 followersMihret Sibhat was born and raised in a small town in western Ethiopia before moving to California when she was seventeen. A graduate of California State University, Northridge, and the University of Minnesota’s MFA program, she was a 2019 A Public Space Fellow and a 2019 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grantee. In a previous life, she was a waitress, a nanny, an occasional shoe shiner, a propagandist, and a terrible gospel singer. She’s currently a miserable Arsenal fan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
April 12, 2023
Publication date: June 27, 2023. This lovely book will be one to purchase, read, put on the shelf, and read it again. A precocious child is born to a large and fascinating family in Ethiopia. The family shifts and turns to survive in an unpredictable political climate. This book is definitely worth your time.
My thanks to the author, Mihret Sibhat, and the publisher, Penguin Random House, for my ARC of this book. #Goodreads Giveaway
My thanks to the author, Mihret Sibhat, and the publisher, Penguin Random House, for my ARC of this book. #Goodreads Giveaway
March 16, 2023
I loved this book fiercely.
First, the voice of the child narrator is something extraordinary. Maybe the most powerful child voice I’ve ever read, bringing to life all the terror and joy of it. The emotional ricocheting. The feelings of intense pride and overwhelming shame, often for things no child should feel shame for. How deep a child feels the fundamental unfairness of life. There is a scene where the child narrator tries to bring her leopard out—gut wrenching.
Second, the characters just leap off the page. Each is fully realized and fully themselves. And their mix of experiences, tragic and comic, totally works. The whole book is so funny and vivid, with so many extraordinary, telling details. She makes this place and these people come completely alive.
Third, the book just rockets along. There was not a single spot where I wanted to skim, or where things sagged. (I inhaled it in about four sessions.) I was always eager to find out what happened next. And so much happened! It’s action packed. Other people have to milk their few stories for every single drop, because they have so few. In someone else’s book, the story of, to give just one instance, the father and the nanny, would have been several chapters. But here it is just part of one. Stories just pour out of this author and she isn't stingy with them. Her book is the feast of a lavish emperor, not a miserly monk (as with so much modern fiction).
Fourth, the book has four chapters from other perspectives than the child narrator's. The God chapter is going to be famous, especially the section on the Department of Rare Prayers. There are no words for that chapter that don’t involve crying, and laughing, and laughing while crying.
Finally, this book is about a family of broken people fighting with each other, even crushing each other, but also protecting each other and hoping for each other. Most of all, it is about a father to whom many terrible things have happened and yet who loves his daughter so very much that he wills her out of the trap of life, and being a girl, into freedom.
The book is just something beautiful.
First, the voice of the child narrator is something extraordinary. Maybe the most powerful child voice I’ve ever read, bringing to life all the terror and joy of it. The emotional ricocheting. The feelings of intense pride and overwhelming shame, often for things no child should feel shame for. How deep a child feels the fundamental unfairness of life. There is a scene where the child narrator tries to bring her leopard out—gut wrenching.
Second, the characters just leap off the page. Each is fully realized and fully themselves. And their mix of experiences, tragic and comic, totally works. The whole book is so funny and vivid, with so many extraordinary, telling details. She makes this place and these people come completely alive.
Third, the book just rockets along. There was not a single spot where I wanted to skim, or where things sagged. (I inhaled it in about four sessions.) I was always eager to find out what happened next. And so much happened! It’s action packed. Other people have to milk their few stories for every single drop, because they have so few. In someone else’s book, the story of, to give just one instance, the father and the nanny, would have been several chapters. But here it is just part of one. Stories just pour out of this author and she isn't stingy with them. Her book is the feast of a lavish emperor, not a miserly monk (as with so much modern fiction).
Fourth, the book has four chapters from other perspectives than the child narrator's. The God chapter is going to be famous, especially the section on the Department of Rare Prayers. There are no words for that chapter that don’t involve crying, and laughing, and laughing while crying.
Finally, this book is about a family of broken people fighting with each other, even crushing each other, but also protecting each other and hoping for each other. Most of all, it is about a father to whom many terrible things have happened and yet who loves his daughter so very much that he wills her out of the trap of life, and being a girl, into freedom.
The book is just something beautiful.
May 5, 2023
Welp, the title says it all. This could have been a really interesting novel about Ethiopia in the 1980s, but the "difficult child," who narrates most of the novel, is both preternaturally wise and utterly lacking in knowledge and understanding, and was so annoying that it was a pain to finish the book. I came to loathe her completely. The issues the book addresses, though--poverty, war, class conflict, developing technology, lack of medical care, poor education, corrupt governmental and other institutions, identity, family structures and social customs--are fascinating. I just wish I could have read about them from a better perspective.
May 22, 2024
I have complicated feelings about this book. In some ways it was really good and I really enjoyed the voice. On the other hand, at times it was hard to follow and it felt a bit like I was fighting my way to the finish line.
July 17, 2023
As of July 2023, this is the BEST book I have read this year. Sure, I have read “good” books but none where the narrator JUMPS off the page. The first 60 pages or so were a bit slow, but then the narrator changed the voice of the story into that of a child, and, OMG, what a voice Selam has. Just when the reader forgets she is a young child, Selam throws a tantrum or does something that reminds you she is a clever little girl. Mihret Sibhat is a brilliant author whose sense of humor blasts through the novel, and she is not afraid to change voice to shift the narration— the chapter from GOD is brilliant!
When I was growing up in the 80s, media coverage inundated us with pictures of “starving children” in Ethiopia. My deepest
gratitude to Mihret Sibhat for moving beyond stereotypical representations and explaining how the civil war in Ethiopia had long-lasting repercussions. By using the voice of a child to tell the story, Sibhat expresses doubt, confusion, and even anger at how Ethiopia turned neighbors against each other. What also resonated was that, although Selam was young, she understood events in her country and in her own life (such as the truth about her mother) more than the adults in her life thought. Sometimes we try to protect little ones from the truth but in the end we only hurt them with what we don’t say.
My only regret is that I could not put this book down because it was so captivating… I wish I could experience this book again for the first time because knowing what I know now I would have savored every word!
When I was growing up in the 80s, media coverage inundated us with pictures of “starving children” in Ethiopia. My deepest
gratitude to Mihret Sibhat for moving beyond stereotypical representations and explaining how the civil war in Ethiopia had long-lasting repercussions. By using the voice of a child to tell the story, Sibhat expresses doubt, confusion, and even anger at how Ethiopia turned neighbors against each other. What also resonated was that, although Selam was young, she understood events in her country and in her own life (such as the truth about her mother) more than the adults in her life thought. Sometimes we try to protect little ones from the truth but in the end we only hurt them with what we don’t say.
My only regret is that I could not put this book down because it was so captivating… I wish I could experience this book again for the first time because knowing what I know now I would have savored every word!
August 1, 2023
The History of A Difficult Child is narrated from an Ethiopian child’s, Selam, point of view as an innocent observing the outcomes of political turmoil, policy changes and power struggles during a civil war. Her family suffers under the new government and wrestles with the complications and ramifications that follow.
This novel offers an innocent’s perspective on socio-economic elements amid a war-torn country: navigating pregnancy, health care, daily living, birth/death, the uncertainties of war on the daily lives of civilians and how it bankrupts families and individuals morally and financially.
There are a lot of timely issues and themes that cause the reader to reflect on the results of controversial decisions and unfortunate circumstances. The author has a unique style of storytelling which appeals to all the senses – it took me a moment to settle into its cadence, but I enjoyed the journey (even through the painful and unpleasant moments).
Thanks to the publisher, Viking, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.
This novel offers an innocent’s perspective on socio-economic elements amid a war-torn country: navigating pregnancy, health care, daily living, birth/death, the uncertainties of war on the daily lives of civilians and how it bankrupts families and individuals morally and financially.
There are a lot of timely issues and themes that cause the reader to reflect on the results of controversial decisions and unfortunate circumstances. The author has a unique style of storytelling which appeals to all the senses – it took me a moment to settle into its cadence, but I enjoyed the journey (even through the painful and unpleasant moments).
Thanks to the publisher, Viking, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.
January 28, 2023
The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat is an exciting debut novel. Selam was born cynical. From the moment of her birth, she has an uncanny omniscence, narrating to us the story of her family with sarcasm and a constant determination to get revenge on anyone who slights her loved ones. Raised by the terrifying, hard-working Degitu and her alcoholic but loving father, Selam observes and narrates as her Small Town whirls through revolutionary politics, gossip, and death.
Selam's voice is refreshing and daring. This young child shoots devastating verbal barbs as the people around her assume she can't hear or understand, quietly absorbing knowledge and gossip. Yes, it's technically unrealistic, but something about it really gets at the way children know and understand more than we usually assume they do. The twists and family dramas made the book hard to put down. There were some choices or digressions that I didn't fully vibe with, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the read. It was a moving and sharp tragicomedy full of memorable characters.
The History of a Difficult Child comes out June 27, 2023 from Viking. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content warnings for alcoholism, misogyny, domestic abuse, death, homophobia, ableism, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation.
Selam's voice is refreshing and daring. This young child shoots devastating verbal barbs as the people around her assume she can't hear or understand, quietly absorbing knowledge and gossip. Yes, it's technically unrealistic, but something about it really gets at the way children know and understand more than we usually assume they do. The twists and family dramas made the book hard to put down. There were some choices or digressions that I didn't fully vibe with, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the read. It was a moving and sharp tragicomedy full of memorable characters.
The History of a Difficult Child comes out June 27, 2023 from Viking. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content warnings for alcoholism, misogyny, domestic abuse, death, homophobia, ableism, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation.
November 27, 2023
That was such a disappointment of a book. It was three times too long and had too many goals. The writer could not pace how much time to spend on topics and as a result it was painful to finish. Also the realization for the little girl that her mother died was so fast, missing power and awe that could have been so powerful. The cultural accuracies were important but the frequent abuses became hard to get through in every chapter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2024
"I used to want to reduce the number of people I love in order to protect my heart from destruction. I don't think the devastation of living will ever stop. I might as well increase my enjoyment of love."
December 24, 2025
I have a tender spot for child narrators. even when they don’t always sound or think like an actual child, I find it striking the right cords for me
I liked the imperfect and witty narrator, sometimes too wise for its age and education. though it’s not the book that explains you the historical background, it still gave me context for ethiopia
I liked the imperfect and witty narrator, sometimes too wise for its age and education. though it’s not the book that explains you the historical background, it still gave me context for ethiopia
April 7, 2024
- the views and beliefs of your family can mould who you are
- the confusing period of time when you realise you’re not on a stable linear path and the story comes completely from within
- the confusing period of time when you realise you’re not on a stable linear path and the story comes completely from within
September 8, 2025
When I started this book I immediately knew Sibhat was a hell of a writer. After a slew of mediocre books with near invisible protagonists it was a blessing to be thrown into such a sparkling voice.
The History of a Difficult Child follows Selam Asmelash and her family as they navigate through the changing political landscape of Ethiopia. The novel tackles everything from government, religion, family drama, grief, poverty, and even candy politics.
While Selam's voice was strong and unique it could be inconsistent switching from nearly omniscient to a child-like innocence and cluelessness with a sprinkling of the f-bomb (seriously, did the random fucks throw anyone else off?)
The novel also felt like it struggled with first-novel syndrome where Sibhat tried to pack all her big ideas in once novel instead of allowing the story breathe.
I look forward to reading any future novels by Sibhet, she's an author to keep an eye on.
The History of a Difficult Child follows Selam Asmelash and her family as they navigate through the changing political landscape of Ethiopia. The novel tackles everything from government, religion, family drama, grief, poverty, and even candy politics.
While Selam's voice was strong and unique it could be inconsistent switching from nearly omniscient to a child-like innocence and cluelessness with a sprinkling of the f-bomb (seriously, did the random fucks throw anyone else off?)
The novel also felt like it struggled with first-novel syndrome where Sibhat tried to pack all her big ideas in once novel instead of allowing the story breathe.
I look forward to reading any future novels by Sibhet, she's an author to keep an eye on.
July 7, 2024
A book I picked up by chance on the side of Fleet Street amidst a jumble of curious rejects holds low expectations. That allowed me the freedom to enjoy wherever the book would take me.
The format of the narrative and how the titular ‘difficult child’ is introduced and centres the story is beautiful.
Its exploration into the historical and cultural impacts of the Ethiopian Socialist Movement and the clash between cultural Christianity and newly introduced Protestantism wove a deep context into a heart wrenching story of family, loss, and an abundance of love.
It’s also always a joy to own a book with a beautiful cover.
The format of the narrative and how the titular ‘difficult child’ is introduced and centres the story is beautiful.
Its exploration into the historical and cultural impacts of the Ethiopian Socialist Movement and the clash between cultural Christianity and newly introduced Protestantism wove a deep context into a heart wrenching story of family, loss, and an abundance of love.
It’s also always a joy to own a book with a beautiful cover.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2025
Somehow this book felt scattered all over the place, too much of the distractive chitchat, that felt somehow irrelevant. If the book kept better focus on fewer storylines, maybe it could have been a powerful 200 pager. I struggled to focus, but based on other reviews it seems like there are people who were able to and enjoyed the book, so don't be taken aback by my feelings about it.
Also, as a person not familiar with Ethiopian realities, I'd probably appreciate some vocabulary with definitions of many many words in the book. Ethiopians may feel very differently about it :)
Also, as a person not familiar with Ethiopian realities, I'd probably appreciate some vocabulary with definitions of many many words in the book. Ethiopians may feel very differently about it :)
November 13, 2023
Narrated by an actual child. This was tough on a lot of levels.
April 5, 2024
reeeeaally enjoyed this !! absolutely loved the narrative voice and it's humour, and thought it dealt with interesting themes very well
November 13, 2024
hard read
December 27, 2023
A precocious character, easy to love. And a message that lives in my heart, that suffering and joy frame one another.
February 7, 2024
This book was filled with so much heart! It had me laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time. If you get the chance to listen to the audiobook, the narrator is fantastic as well.
July 11, 2023
The voice!!
August 11, 2025
Super interesting coming of age style book. The chapter from “god” was very interested! Heretical, yes, but still interesting. I love reading new authors and reading coming of age stories from different perspectives and cultures.
July 8, 2023
Reading the blurb which said :
An exhilarating, 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.
I knew I needed this book and so preordered it. The cover is so wonderful and I had an Ethiopian friend whose family was imprisoned during the revolution.
Now that I've read it, I will try to focus my opinions. Selam is indeed a difficult child during difficult times and her voice is both endearing and overpowering. Her opinions, imaginings and foul mouth are sometimes so over the top that it interferes with the delicate feelings.
Imagine if you will a child on the floor rolling around kicking and screaming. This is a difficult child. We step back. We don't want to invest in this child. We fail to feel the pain. But for this story to work, we do need to feel some pain, we can't retreat.
There is much to this story that is admirable. The marvelous humor of the author, the understanding of the Ethiopian culture and the way the author brings the reader into the setting, and the love of family.
I'm really glad I read this book and while I think the pacing could have been a bit better, I'm impressed with Mihret Sibhat's debut effort and look forward to reading more by her.
An exhilarating, 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.
I knew I needed this book and so preordered it. The cover is so wonderful and I had an Ethiopian friend whose family was imprisoned during the revolution.
Now that I've read it, I will try to focus my opinions. Selam is indeed a difficult child during difficult times and her voice is both endearing and overpowering. Her opinions, imaginings and foul mouth are sometimes so over the top that it interferes with the delicate feelings.
Imagine if you will a child on the floor rolling around kicking and screaming. This is a difficult child. We step back. We don't want to invest in this child. We fail to feel the pain. But for this story to work, we do need to feel some pain, we can't retreat.
There is much to this story that is admirable. The marvelous humor of the author, the understanding of the Ethiopian culture and the way the author brings the reader into the setting, and the love of family.
I'm really glad I read this book and while I think the pacing could have been a bit better, I'm impressed with Mihret Sibhat's debut effort and look forward to reading more by her.
July 30, 2023
It was interesting to a point but after a while got redundant and was hard to finish
July 25, 2023
Difficult to get into. Enjoyed the child narrator’s perspective about things here and there but otherwise a bit hard to follow and didn’t click.
November 7, 2023
Really loved this book. Only gave it a 4/5 because I thought some of the stories could’ve been condensed. Otherwise, I loved how it was narrated through the voice of the child and thought Sibhat did a great job of capturing the political and historical climate throughout.
June 19, 2023
This book is beautiful and powerful. By utilizing the lens of a child, the author describes not only a country going through political uprise, but the intricacies of family, religion, and death. Absolutely stunning!
March 27, 2024
A hollow pumpkin. And frustratingly inconsistent.
I actually thoroughly enjoyed the idea of this book and thought the author did a tremendous job at portraying political and social upheaval through a child's eyes. Adults refuse to communicate to children in ways that are easy to understand, which leads to this out-of-touch world that Selam interacts with, and its wonderfully demonstrated through magic realism in this story. And with the intersection of religion and this being another way she interprets the world, it still does not give her the truth to some of the heartbreaking events that unfold before her.
But let's get back to that "inconsistency" thing. This book was hard to follow, and I can't tell if at times I was just lost or bored. I think Selam was a wonderfully written character, abrasive and impulsive all while being innocent, but it wasn't enough to salvage the other parts of this book. Really, there was a lot of but whys? that I asked throughout reading this. Her family is a trainwreck, the political chronology is kind of hard to follow (though I really appreciated its presence), and there isn't really a coherent plot. I think if that had been edited or paid attention to more, it would've bumped this book up significantly.
I actually thoroughly enjoyed the idea of this book and thought the author did a tremendous job at portraying political and social upheaval through a child's eyes. Adults refuse to communicate to children in ways that are easy to understand, which leads to this out-of-touch world that Selam interacts with, and its wonderfully demonstrated through magic realism in this story. And with the intersection of religion and this being another way she interprets the world, it still does not give her the truth to some of the heartbreaking events that unfold before her.
But let's get back to that "inconsistency" thing. This book was hard to follow, and I can't tell if at times I was just lost or bored. I think Selam was a wonderfully written character, abrasive and impulsive all while being innocent, but it wasn't enough to salvage the other parts of this book. Really, there was a lot of but whys? that I asked throughout reading this. Her family is a trainwreck, the political chronology is kind of hard to follow (though I really appreciated its presence), and there isn't really a coherent plot. I think if that had been edited or paid attention to more, it would've bumped this book up significantly.
September 4, 2023
The Ethiopian child’s voice narrating this novel says, “In Amharic, fiction is called lib-weled---born of the heart … you make stories in the heart…so that you can imagine a hundred scenarios in which your dead mother continues to live.”
The child chronicles Ethiopian events and settings of the 1980s, centering the story around her family in a remote area of the northwest region of the country. Sibhat, an Ethiopian-American, gives the reader a look at a wide spectrum of Ethiopia: history, religions, ethnicities, cultural traditions, political and social structures.
The weakness of the novel is that the reader may find the improbability and imbalances of a child voicing sophisticated, complex perceptions while at the same moment acting like a child, simply too incredible.
But there is no doubt that the tale is born of heart, the author’s heart.
The child chronicles Ethiopian events and settings of the 1980s, centering the story around her family in a remote area of the northwest region of the country. Sibhat, an Ethiopian-American, gives the reader a look at a wide spectrum of Ethiopia: history, religions, ethnicities, cultural traditions, political and social structures.
The weakness of the novel is that the reader may find the improbability and imbalances of a child voicing sophisticated, complex perceptions while at the same moment acting like a child, simply too incredible.
But there is no doubt that the tale is born of heart, the author’s heart.
October 14, 2024
The novel is rich in historical context, depicting the societal challenges and personal struggles faced by families in post-revolutionary Ethiopia. Sibhat masterfully intertwines elements of political critique with the innocence of childhood, allowing readers to witness the stark realities of war through Selan's eyes. This approach creates a compelling contrast between the child's perspective and the adult world's harshness, making the narrative both relatable and profound.
Selan is portrayed as an indomitable spirit, embodying both humor and resilience amidst chaos. Her character serves as a lens through which the reader experiences the joys and sorrows of growing up in a tumultuous environment. Sibhat's ability to craft a vibrant protagonist adds depth to the story, making Selan's journey not just a personal one but also a reflection of broader societal issues.
Sibhat's writing style is described as tragicomic, blending humor with serious themes to create an engaging reading experience. The novel's tone oscillates between light-hearted moments and poignant reflections, capturing the duality of childhood joy and the weight of adult concerns. This stylistic choice enhances the emotional impact of Selan's story, making it resonate with readers on multiple levels.
The History of a Difficult Child stands out as a remarkable debut that not only entertains but also invites readers to reflect on the resilience of youth in challenging times. Sibhat's blend of humor and tragedy creates a rich tapestry that captures both the innocence of childhood and the harsh realities of life, making it a must-read for those interested in nuanced coming-of-age stories set against historical backdrops.
Selan is portrayed as an indomitable spirit, embodying both humor and resilience amidst chaos. Her character serves as a lens through which the reader experiences the joys and sorrows of growing up in a tumultuous environment. Sibhat's ability to craft a vibrant protagonist adds depth to the story, making Selan's journey not just a personal one but also a reflection of broader societal issues.
Sibhat's writing style is described as tragicomic, blending humor with serious themes to create an engaging reading experience. The novel's tone oscillates between light-hearted moments and poignant reflections, capturing the duality of childhood joy and the weight of adult concerns. This stylistic choice enhances the emotional impact of Selan's story, making it resonate with readers on multiple levels.
The History of a Difficult Child stands out as a remarkable debut that not only entertains but also invites readers to reflect on the resilience of youth in challenging times. Sibhat's blend of humor and tragedy creates a rich tapestry that captures both the innocence of childhood and the harsh realities of life, making it a must-read for those interested in nuanced coming-of-age stories set against historical backdrops.
June 29, 2023
I think I saw this on a booklist somewhere but it sounded like a super interesting concept. Selam is a child in Ethiopia during the 1980's as a socialist revolution overthrows the government and engages in a civil war. Selam and her family, the Asmelashes, are now unwelcome under the new regime. Selam's mother embraces a new religion and we follow the family, told through Selam's eyes.
I found this very dull. I liked the idea, was curious about reading about a place I have very little familiarity with, etc. but I understand the criticisms. Selam is less of a character and more of a narrator, being both a precocious child who hears and understands a lot more than she lets others know, while not understanding the events going on around her. It is not an unusual trope, but I am not sure it was well utilized here.
If I could sum up how I felt, I would say the book felt a little too "chatty," perhaps reflecting the title ("difficult child"), as sometimes children are. It might be a good book for an adaptation but as a story it just was not for me.
There are several people who liked the book, so maybe it was more of a mismatch. Be warned, there are several topics that some may find difficult: pregnancy, child abuse, death of a parent, poverty, war, classism and class conflict, etc that can't really be avoided since it is part of Selam's story.
Borrowed from the library but I'd say this one was skippable.
I found this very dull. I liked the idea, was curious about reading about a place I have very little familiarity with, etc. but I understand the criticisms. Selam is less of a character and more of a narrator, being both a precocious child who hears and understands a lot more than she lets others know, while not understanding the events going on around her. It is not an unusual trope, but I am not sure it was well utilized here.
If I could sum up how I felt, I would say the book felt a little too "chatty," perhaps reflecting the title ("difficult child"), as sometimes children are. It might be a good book for an adaptation but as a story it just was not for me.
There are several people who liked the book, so maybe it was more of a mismatch. Be warned, there are several topics that some may find difficult: pregnancy, child abuse, death of a parent, poverty, war, classism and class conflict, etc that can't really be avoided since it is part of Selam's story.
Borrowed from the library but I'd say this one was skippable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews