A striking novel. Once I got past the turgid speeches in chapter 4 it took off and I was caught up in events of the Red Star Campaign and the experiences of Tsegaye the journalist as his faith in the revolution and in himself is undermined by war, intrigue and love. The banning of the book in Ethiopia straight after publication and disappearance of the author a few months later add a poignancy to reading this and helped me not take offence at some attitudes that reflect the time and place it was written.