"The Shadow King" | Casa Italiana Zerilli / Marimò

"The Shadow King"

Book Presentation
Wed, 10/14/2020 - 5:00pm
Author Maaza Mengiste with Ruth Ben-Ghiat
book cover

In conjunction with the series
Virtual Salons: Discourses on Black Italia
In collaboration with NYU Florence
The Shadow King

(2020, W.W. Norton)
Book Presentation

Author Maaza Mengiste (Queens College)
in conversation with
Ruth Ben-Ghiat (NYU)

Live broadcast on Casa's Facebook Page and website

Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and named a best book of the year by the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Time, and winner of the first Flying Whale prize, The Shadow King is an “unforgettable epic from an immensely talented author who’s unafraid to take risks” (Michael Schaub, NPR).

Set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King takes us back to the first real conflict of World War II, casting light on the women soldiers who were left out of the historical record. At its heart is orphaned maid Hirut, who finds herself tumbling into a new world of thefts and violations, of betrayals and overwhelming rage. What follows is a heartrending and unputdownable exploration of what it means to be a woman at war.

In ENGLISH.

About Virtual Salons: Discourses on Black Italia
How can one unpack the intersectional layers of race, identity and citizenship in Italy? Inspired by Professor Angelica Pesarini’s course at NYU Florence, Black Italia, each episode will provide leading scholars, writers, artists and activists an opportunity to dig deep into questions about race, racialization, identity, citizenship, and more in Italy. By the end of the series, viewers will learn: an overview of how race and identity exist in colonial and post-colonial Italy; how racialization impacts immigrants and youth of immigrants with Arab backgrounds; strategies used by artists and journalists of the Mediterranean to tell a story about Italy; the diversity of experiences of Afro-Italian women, as featured in Future, edited by Igiaba Scego; how Black Lives Matter Movement has impacted anti-racism activism and citizenship rights in Italy. This series will be co-facilitated by Candice Whitney, Writer, Translator, and Fulbright Researcher to Italy 2016-17 and Professor Angelica Pesarini, NYU Florence.