The History of a Difficult Child

In The History of a Difficult Child, author Mihret Sibhat offers us a kaleidoscope through which to consider the events of history – both global and local – through the intimate, evolving viewpoint of a child born in tumultuous times. While the setting is revolutionary Ethiopia in the 1980s, the themes of loss, corruption, intimacy, faith, and liberation ricochet the reader between places and events, while remaining accessible to anyone who has ever felt deeply about a place, person or idea. Our young narrator, Selam, the “Difficult Child” of the title, is the spark that ignites journeys and questions, and whose indomitable spirit will not be denied a better future even if she has to reinvent the truth to craft it. LB-P