Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Oromay by Baalu Girma

Blurb from Goodreads

A journalist finds himself embroiled in a disastrous government campaign as well as a sweeping romance in this landmark English translation of Ethiopia’s most famous novel.

An engrossing political thriller and a tale of love and war for readers of John Le Carré and Philip Kerr.

December 1981, Ethiopia. Tsegaye Hailemaryam, a well-known journalist for the state-run media, has just landed in Asmara. He is on assignment as the head of propaganda for the Red Star campaign, a massive effort by the Ethiopian government to end the Eritrean insurgency. There, amid the city’s bars and coffeehouses buzzing with spies and government agents, he juggles the demands of his superiors while trying to reassure his fiancée back home that he’s not straying with Asmara’s famed beauties.

As Tsegaye falls in love with Asmara—and, in spite of his promises, with dazzling, enigmatic local woman Fiammetta—his misgivings about the campaign grow. Tsegaye confronts the horror of war when he is sent with an elite army unit to attack the insurgents’ mountain stronghold. In the aftermath, he encounters betrayals that shake his faith in both the regime and human nature.

Oromay became an instant sensation when first published in 1983 and was swiftly banned for its frank depiction of the regime. The author vanished soon thereafter; the consensus is that he was murdered in retaliation for Oromay. A sweeping and timeless story about power and betrayal in love and war, the novel remains Girma’s masterpiece.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Well, technically it should be “Happy Tuesday everyone!” Just like that, we are already a week into 2025. How has the new year been? I hope that 2025 is showering everyone with positive news and blessings. I hope everyone was able to recover from the long holiday break. I hope everyone is able to pick up their energies because, as we all know it, life must still go on; read: we must go back to work or school. I surmise that our brains have already gone on vacation. I know mine did. Nevertheless, I hope everyone started the work week on the right note. I hope you all had a good start to the workweek. I hope everyone makes it through the week. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit, not only this week but for the rest of the year.

Despite the new year, some things never change. As has been customary, I am kicking off the blogging week with a fresh Goodreads Monday update. This is the first such update for 2025. A part of every new year the setting of goals and resolutions. For this year, I have quite some lofty goals. For one, I have already set my reading goal to 100 despite historically initially setting it at a more conservative level. I guess I want to challenge myself and maintain the reading momentum I built in the past three years. I also plan to read more translated works to reduce the gap between books originally published in English and translated literary works. I guess this is also one of the reasons why I included a translated work in my 2025 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. This book is Baalu Girma’s Oromay.

Before this year, I have never heard of the Ethiopian writer. Apparently, Girma is well-recognized in Ethiopian and African literary circles. He also has an interesting back story. He is known for his indomitable spirit and unwavering conviction. Not only was he a prominent literary voice, he was also known as a prominent voice in political activism. The harsh realities of his time were vividly captured in his works. In 1984, he and his family disappeared. It is widely believed that he was assassinated by the Derg, the military dictatorship that ruled over Ethiopia, for his subversive and critical writing. His situation was exacerbated by his opposition of the Ethiopian government.

I only came across his work, Oromay, through similar most anticipated books to be released in 2025. Apparently, Oromay is a literary classic in Girma’s native Ethiopia. It is originally written in Amharic and presented a cynical account on the Red Star Campaign of the Derg military junta. It was originally published in 1983, just a year before Girma’s disappearance. I am looking forward to reading the book because of what it has in store. I admit I have little knowledge about Ethiopia’s history – I only read one novel about Ethiopia, Maaza Mengiste’s The Shadow King – and the book promises to provide me intimate glimpses into the troubled African nation. For now, I just hope I get to obtain a copy of the book. How was your Monday, Tuesday rather? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!