The novelist explains how literature illuminates soldiers’ experience, and how it helped her depict the women who fought Mussolini in Ethiopia
Growing up with the stories of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and Ethiopia’s eventual victory, I did not need much prodding to imagine the conflict. On one side: white-clad Ethiopian soldiers racing down rugged hills with spears or outdated rifles to confront rows of modern artillery. On the other: steely-eyed Italian troops waiting with cannon and tanks, unaware that courage could defeat bullets.
It was not until a revolution tore my country apart that I began to understand how war could render decent people unrecognisable. Only when I had felt real terror did I begin to comprehend the many ways that conflict can devour us without spilling a drop of blood.
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