Rating: 
Summary: A WHOLE NEW WORLD
Review: Informative as it is entertaining, Mezlekia's memoir goes beyond the story of one man's life to tell the story of a nation. Growing up during Ethiopia's most tumultuous period of history, the author describes his journey from a mischievous and naïve child (during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie) to an educated and world-weary soldier (during the rise of the Communist junta). "Notes From the Hyena's Belly" combines a classic narrative with elements of Ethiopian folklore and punctuates the whole thing with wit and humor, an amazing tale that is (nearly) unbelievable.
Rating:
Summary: Readable as History, Readable as Literature
Review: Mezlekia's story is about growing up in the second half of the 20th Century in Ethiopia, a period of upheaval that includes the overthrow of Haile Selassie and subsequent socialist governments. It richly describes the ethnic tapestry of the country, weaving in folk tales and folk medicine. The stories told by his mother and others are rich diversions in the story of his life and make this history more literary.He has a highly developed sense of satire and irony, whether when plotting revenge against a strict teacher or when commenting, "To make sure that there was no mistaking the nationality of those involved in designing and building most of the (Addis Ababa) university, the various gadgets and fixtures within them had the 'American Standard' imprint on them." Highly readable, whatever your knowledge of Africa might be. Highly recommended if you want to understand what type of economic structures are appropriate in the developing world. Yet it's real strength is in the human story.
Rating: 
Summary: An ambitious work
Review: Nega Mezlekia takes on an ambitious project (and is successful) in writing this book about his Ethiopian childhood. By using his own experiences (some of them quite harrowing), he connects us to the larger picture of Ethiopia with its social, political, and economic struggle. Nega intersperses fables (many of them having to do with animals) within the body of his own story--a technique that gives his autobiographical account clarity and richness. I loved stepping aside for a moment in the text to read a mini story or fable that shed light on a particular passage. Since human beings learn best about their envirnoment through story, this technique allowed me, the reader, to better understand the whole. Mam seemed to be a virtual story repository, garnering wisdom from those stories as she passed them on to her son. It is evident that her son acquired a good bit of that wisdom as well. It is also evident that Nega respects all forms of life. I enjoyed his threading animals (hyenas, monkeys, lions, snakes, camels--even flies and beetles) and their behavior into the weave of his story. Human beings are not the center of the universe, but co-exist with other life forms. Nega's work reflects that understanding and that refreshes my spirit. Great job!
Rating: 
Summary: Bends in the Life of Nega Mezlekia
Review: Nega ought to be commended for having written a rich and poignant book depicting the abundantly tragic story of Ethiopia at a segment in time. His recounting of some minute details--from the comical and bittersweet incidents of his early childhood years to the ominous political and social turmoil was certainly worth reading about even for a person who was born and raised in Ethiopia such as myself. We were all Ethiopians back then, but alas, we lived on different planets. Having said that, I wish the book explained some important issues more clearly. Case in point: When the not-so-beautiful girl recruited Nega as a foot soldier for EPRP, I thought he was going to join that party. But that seemed to have never happened. In stead he joined the Western Somalia Liberation Front. What transpired for him and his friend to join this front? I admired his open mindedness and his desire to change what he can, but it still struck me as odd that an Amhara had to join a Somali ethnic based movement. Was it just that they stumbled onto the rebels' camp by accident?
I wish the author also mentioned his father more and gave us a sense of what the man was like. Mentioning "Mam" so much gave the impression that Nega and his siblings were raised practically in a single-parent home with no father figure whatsoever. (Father was mentioned in very rare occasions).
The author also seemed somewhat embittered and cynical in many locations. Having lived through the experiences he did, these emotions may just have to be displayed, but I wish he took more effort to provide us with some insight into the sunny sides of Ethiopian life.
Also the book could have used more editing. But these incidents do not take away from the overall richness of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Poignance Epitomized!
Review: One of my all-time favorites because of Mr. Mezlekia's gorgeous prose! Thanks to this superbly talented scribe, now I see Ethiopians as active participants in their history. Contains a detailed look at his childhood classroom experiences which will shock and provoke tears of rage!
This tome will be a favorite for all who care about Africa and want to see her from an African's perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Sad, Informative & Engaging
Review: Seldom do I come across a book that is so absorbing, so emotionally engaging that I laugh one minute, then cry the next. If you had to read just one book this year, let this be the one. Congratulations Nega. Hope that you continue to write. A WONDERFUL GIFT TO THE WORLD! BRAVO!!
Rating:
Summary: unique account
Review: There aren't too many autobiographies of modern Africa out there, and this one in particular stands alone, intermingling historical events with Mezlekia's boyhood and life in Jijiga, a city in the eastern part of the Horn of Africa built on a "dry, sandless desert where even the smallest wind creates devils- whirlwinds of dust that rise high into the heavens and are visible from miles away." Everyone in Jijiga fears the hyenas, which of course explains why there are no homeless people. The townspeople themselves--"Christians, mostly Amharas," and "Muslims, mainly Somalis"-- combined religious rituals with ancient pagan traditions; their culture, which finds its roots in the song of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, is shaped by myth, fantasy, and folklore. One of my favorite parts is when his mother consulted the "medicine man," after one too many youthful mishaps caused her to deduce her son was possessed by an evil spirit. This is both a good story and a well-told story. Mezlekia offers a convincing prelude to the Red Terror, so that when the communist party officially comes into power, it is easy to understand why people were so intrigued by the idea of this new government and new social structure. It explains how killing can become commonplace, how unreality can become a reality, and how these factors can either make a break a person.
Rating:
Summary: Notes That Matter
Review: This book is full of meaning, often insightful and completely unforgettable it is written with candor and wit despite its serious edges. Nega Mezlekia has written a memoir about his boyhood growing up in Ethiopia during the fall of Emperor Selassie. He experiences all of the curious playful things that all boys are reared with yet he also discusses the harshness of the environment during the rise of Junta communism in which thousands of young people were ruthlessly slaughtered. He writes on page 183, "Apathy in the face of continual violence is something someone who has never lived through a war cannot understand......People simply gathered about themselves, like rags, what life there was left, deafened and inured to the inevitability of death." Although Mezlekia has many horrible atrocities to write about this is not all he adheres to. At times this memoir is very witty and I laughed out loud several times imagining some of his shenanigans. His adventures with medicine men and native cures is hilarious as well as his attempt to capture the loose cattle in his village with pepper. I am always impressed with the attitude of Africans who survive the atrocities they have faced in their home countries. Their spirit and survivalist hearts seem to always prevail despite the horrible circumstances they are often forced to endure. Mezlekia managed to escape his country at possibly its worst moments, not without heartache, not without suffering, but with a true gift as a storyteller. I would recommend this memoir to everyone interested in a great true tale but especially to those concerned with the plights of our fellow human beings who suffer so gracefully for their native lands.
Rating:
Summary: More than just a story of cruelty, war and terror...
Review: This is a memoir of the author's boyhood and young manhood in Ethiopia. Born in 1958 to a middle-class family in the city of Jijiga, Mr. Mezlekia left Ethiopia in 1980 and is now a professional engineer living in Toronto. Narrated with a light touch and a mixture of myth and fantasy, he opens a world for the western reader that has too long been influenced by nothing more than photos of skeletal images of starving children and grinding poverty. This story, however, is much more than that. From the start, there's a wide variety of interesting characters and a rich warm family life. There's Mustafa, the swindler, who boards at his home; there's Mr. Alula, the teacher, whose severe forms of discipline call for retribution by boyhood pranks; there's Wondwossen, his childhood companion, who joins a guerilla army with him; there are his sisters who never stop feuding. But most memorable of all is his mother, who holds her family together during the extreme hardships which inevitably come to this violent and war-torn land. He was 14 yeas old in 1972, a time when idealism and student protests were sweeping the globe. In Ethiopia, however, students were gunned down and murdered. Young Nega was jailed often and regularly, and always tortured, but somehow his descriptions of this time in his life are told with a touch of lightness. Years later, in 1977, when over 100,000 people are murdered in seven months during the "Red Terror" and bodies laid out over the streets, he yearns for the time when they were all just simply tortured. Throughout the book, I couldn't help shuddering at the all the cruelty. From the brutality of the schools, to scenes in the hospital where patients were beaten, to the way that monkeys were slaughtered, I found it disturbing how easily such things were taken for granted. Although Mr. Mezlekia does his best to describe the political situation, I found it hard to follow the various juntas and guerillas and political parties. The fantasies and myths, which I usually don't care for in literature, seemed very right for this book however. It was a constant reminder to me that this story did not come from a western author. Mr. Mezlekia is truly a witness to his times. He has certainly widened my understanding of his world.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and insightful look at Ethiopia
Review: This memoir by Nega Mezlekia is a great personal account of what life was like growing up in rural Ethiopia during the later part of the twentieth century. The stories and vivid memories provided by Mezlekia are quite interesting, and help to paint a picture of what life was like growing up in the small town of Jijiga. The author does a marvelous job of intertwining history throughout the novel. For that reason, this book is recommended to all that are planning to travel to Ethiopia. But as aforementioned, this book is a great read and is truly recommended to all that are interested in personal narratives. My favorite parts of the book were the colloquialisms that Mezlekia included. For example, his description of time is quite hysterical, as he seems to greatly exaggerate the moments that dragged on during his life. I also found it amusing that "camels don't understand Amharic." The description of the flies as part of the community was also quite funny. In the end, the book was a great one and anyone with an interest in Ethiopia should check it out. At first, I thought the title was a bit of a stretch...then I visited Ethiopia and saw the hyenas firsthand!
| 
