Wife S Tale
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Wife S Tale
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The Wife's Tale: A Personal History Paperback – March 19, 2019
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4.4 out of 5 stars
155 ratings
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Aida Edemariam, whose father is Ethiopian and mother Canadian, grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,. She studied English literature at Oxford University and the University of Toronto, and has worked as a journalist in New York ( Harper's Magazine ), Toronto, and London, where she is a senior feature writer and editor for The Guardian. Her first book, The Wife's Tale , was named a Finalist for the prestigious Governor General's Award for Nonfiction in Canada. Aida Edemariam lives in Oxford.
Publisher
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Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (March 19, 2019) Language
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English Paperback
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336 pages ISBN-10
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0062136054 ISBN-13
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978-0062136053 Item Weight
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8.6 ounces Dimensions
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5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
4.4 out of 5 stars
155 ratings
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Aran Joseph Canes Top Contributor: Philosophy
All the reviews I’ve read of the Wife’s Tale (The Guardian, The Financial Times, etc.) focus on what I think are minor themes in the book—the history of Ethiopia, the author’s effort to connect to her roots and the visceral feel of village life. Here, I am going to proffer what I think is the real theme of this work—but I am a data scientist and not a English major so my understanding might be completely erroneous. The title The Wife’s Tale is originally one of the Canterbury Tales in which a knight is sent on a quest to discover what women want. He finally achieves an answer in learning that they want mastery of their husbands. This Wife’s Tale begins with Yetemegnu, the real life protagonist, being as far from mastery over her husband as possible—she is a child bride. Symbolically, she is not even permitted to hear a beloved drum at her wedding because of an Ethiopian superstition. Even as she grows into a young woman with children of her own she is completely lorded over by her husband—amidst being forced to stay inside her house and beatings she is hardly able to even claim mastery of herself. All the while she prays to the supreme image of womanhood, Mary the mother of Jesus. According to tradition, Mary was entrusted to the Jewish temple in childhood making her Yetemegnu’s companion in not having the normal joys of youth. Like Yetemegnu she is married at an early age. And like Yetemegnu her part in life is largely defined by her relation to her offspring. Yet, as decades pass and Ethiopia experiences an Italian invasion, a return to monarchy and then Marxism, Yetemegnu begins to assert more control over her life. Her husband is first imprisoned and then dies leaving her with responsibility for the household. Her children grow up and lead modern lives in choosing their own spouses, personal careers and emigration to first world countries. After living nearly a century, Yetemegnu passes away and is given an elaborate funeral with hundreds of priests, government officials and the leading men of her region of Ethiopia. And, at last, a drum is played. She has finally attained the sovereignty over men denied to her in life. St. Mary too, in Christian tradition, was assumed into heaven where she became queen and mother of all the living. Catholic and Orthodox Christians recognize her as the saint of saints and implore her intercession more than any other personage save her son. Here, the parallel reaches its culmination. Yetemegnu, who throughout the book weaves her speech and life with that of St. Mary’s, now achieves, paradoxically, the relief from servitude that followed her during her earthly life. The title of The Wife’s Tale could not be more apt. Again, this is somewhat of a speculative interpretation—and may be over bold from someone with neither a degree in literature or religious studies—but the way in which the author inserts passages from the life of Mary into the book and rather overtly draws these parallels makes me confident this interpretation is consonant with the intention of the author. Yes, the language is poetic and visceral and the book is set in a time and place few in the West understand. But the book is not called A Woman of Ethiopia but The Wife’s Tale. The major theme is a traditional and religious woman’s quest to grow out of extreme servitude into a person who is master of her own life and the lives of those entrusted to her. It is this different but interesting take on feminism that makes this so much more than just a trip to an exotic place. Whether one agrees with this type of feminism or not it is important that feminist voices are heard not only from first world countries. A Wife’s Tale is an unrecognized vision of what feminism can be.
The story is closest to the truth of the lives and times of the Ethiopian landscape of days gone by. The descriptive aspect of the day to day life of those depicted in the book are real and authentic. A great tale that can only be portrayed by one who has done her research very well and stayed true and authentic in the course of writing the book as only the author can.
This is a wonderful story about the author’s grandmother whose life spanned pivotal moments of Ethiopian history, from a feudal period to the overthrown of the Emperor. The story is that of a woman in a marriage, in her community, in a region in a country and how she adapts or copes with significant changes in her circumstances. The author does an excellent job in recreating the life as lived, capturing very personal feelings of this woman who although uneducated used her considerable skills and intuition to survive, thrive and educate her children. If one doesn’t know much about Ethiopia, this book presents facets of its history, the feudal society, family dynamics, food, culture and especially religion and the church. Well written and a story well told.
I would recommend this novel/memoir/accolade to all who like reading! I found it wonderfully informative in content and touching in its emotions. The main character, Nannye, is a heroine of the highest order. Her granddaughter has created a picture of the times and the culture of Ethiopia in sweeping, indelible strokes of color. It deserves a 5 star rating.
A daughter's lyrical story of her mother's life in Ethiopia. The mother married as a pre- teen to an important religious leader. The early 20th Century history of Ethiopia is told through the perspective of this woman and her family.
I love the way the author connects the reader with the various aspects of Ethiopia and Ethiopian culture. The differences may be significant, but she puts us into that world and I soon felt connected to the author's grandmother and her family. And I learned so much, not just about the main character but about the history and culture of Ethiopia! I discovered how little I knew, and it was a truly wonderful experience!
I read this in preparation for a reunion of Peace Corps volunteers who'd served in Ethiopia. The book evoked memories of Ethiopian highland culture that was shared by people in a different tribe elsewhere in the country. I found it helpful in providing details about the events following the overthrow of Haile Selassie. The author did a nice job of blending her grandmother's memories with her own.
I didn't realize until the end that the book was written by the main character's grand-daughter and that it was a memoir of this family. It was written from the vantage point of the Ethiopian "wife". Offered valuable insights into that culture. I read it on a kindle but in paperback, one would have known about the glossary at the end.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A finely written biography of both the author’s grandmother and of Ethiopia.
The book is an account of the life of the author’s grandmother, born in 1916, to her death in 2013. Yetemegnu was married as a child to Tsega Teshalé who soon was to become a church leader. It is a moving story of Yetemegnu’s at times turbulent life, always dignified despite personal inner conflict and misfortune. It is set against the background of a country which experienced great changes – both political and societal – in Yetemegnu’s long life. I came across the book through the Royal African Society’s listing of the best books by African writers in the first half of 2019. I visited Ethiopia many times during twenty years from the mid-1970s – a period of great changes. Aida Edemariam writes beautifully of her grandmother, and clearly has absorbed much about those parts of Ethiopia with which Yetemegnu was most closely associated. She moves quite quickly through the period following Ethiopia’s red terror of the mid-1970s, introducing herself more fully into the story after visiting with her two years’ old daughter. Some readers, unacquainted with Ethiopia’s history, might find some of the more detailed aspects of the book a little confusing, but there is a useful glossary at the end of the book.
For a long time now, I have been eager to read books written by established litrary critiques, even more so after devouring with bemusement Aida Edemariam’s forensic deconstruction of an Abraham Verghese epic ‘Cutting for Stone’ for The Guardian. I was heartened to find out that she herself would be releasing a personal history book – a tantalizing debut - under her given name at least, according to my limited research. I was glad to get it on Kindle, and read it daily while being driven through congested traffic in a West African capital. I can now confirm that ‘The Wife’s Tale’ is, indeed, a fine book. Aida has done well. She has managed to chronicle and celebrate her beloved Enana’s long, eventful life, immortalize her with original prose and traditional poetry, while mourning her death with profound dignity. What must be harder, as it was difficult for me when I recently found out, is the death of her father Edemariam Tsega, who was a towering figure in the Ethiopian Medical Community. I hope the author accepts my deepest sympathies. I am not sure if this is the right forum to say that, but rest assured that it is straight from the heart. Full disclosure. I was once a student of the late professor, and can’t speak highly enough of him in regards to his achievements both as a scientist and in his expanded role as Dean of the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University. He was an austere, demanding educator whose leadership qualities must surely have come from the aptly titled Alequa Tsega. His abhorrence of 'Khat' could now be traced back to his mother’s astute observation about people from Harar in Aida’s book. As folks might be aware, munching on the sleep-depriving, dyspepsia-inducing leafy stimulant was recently criminalized in the UK, much to the consternation of my Somali neighbours and relief of gastroenterologists across Greater Manchester. Apart from Prof Edemariam’s numerous scientific works, his most pertinent publication could well be the ubiquitous little “Green Book”, a definitive history taking and physical examination manual for medical students that we tried to memorize in the best tradition of apprentice deacons and Qinie learners in the highlands. Appropriately, among the few that I attended, one talk he gave on Medical Ethics remains etched in my memory. But I digress. Let’s get back to Aida’s book under review. 'The Wife’s Tale' is poignant and flows seamlessly. Set in the context of actual historical events, it is unflinching and sometimes imprecise but always incisive - a captivating spectacle. A comparative study could reasonably equate Yetemegnu’s extraordinary life to the mystic ideal of Mama Ethiopia, long-suffering but with timeless beauty and limitless generosity. But any self-respecting Gondari, suspicious and proud in equal measure, would want to know why it was written in a foreign script, rather than in the ancient language of our patron saints. Historical events in the memoir alluded to above include turbulent ones locally and some international ones, like the untimely demise of Samora Machel, whom my Mozambican friends consider a prophet, though he died in the mid 80’s and possibly later than in the time frame described in the book. Yetemegnu is probably the only lady who could give my own Enana, she of Bichena Mariam, a good run for her money when it comes to experiencing more frequent, or more vivid dreams, some that would be recalled and interpreted retrospectively after being overtaken by actual events. This could be a product of their uncluttered, social media and screen-free lives, but I consider it a blessing from the heavens. My Enana also stubbornly did come up with names for me (don’t ask!) and my siblings, and it would be hard for me to imagine the author or her daughter being referred to simply as ‘Aida’ and ‘Rahel’ respectively by the grand old lady Yetemegnu, without having their handles tagged somehow to the revered St Mary, but I could be wrong. The often disputatious Ethiopian diaspora will hopefully weigh in someday soon on Aida’s work and give it the recognition it deserves. Personally, it is without reservation that I recommend 'The Wife’s Tale; and give it four stars, as I would sagaciously reserve a five-star rating for authors that I know personally or books that are out of this world - like 'Midnight’s Children' and 'Fikir Eske Mekabir'. Dr Verghese, as always, has only the nicest things to say, “THE WIFE’S TALE is the extraordinary memoir of a woman who lived through the cataclysmic events that shaped modern Ethiopian history. The narrative, which is lovingly and expertly put together by her granddaughter, is a window into a world that would otherwise be invisible to us.” — Abraham Verghese, author of CUTTING FOR STONE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read
This is a very interesting read and well written. Covers a wide sweep of a volatile period of Ethiopian history from a personal perspective of one woman - the author’s grandmother. It provides a good balance between the broader social change and the personal from a perspective that’s been little explored. I think it will appeal most to people with some background knowledge of Ethiopian soc
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