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The Conscript
The Conscript: A Novel of Libya�s Anticolonial War | Gebreyesus Hailu
2 posts | 1 read
Eloquent and thought-provoking, this classic novel by the Eritrean novelist Gebreyesus Hailu, written in Tigrinya in 1927 and published in 1950, is one of the earliest novels written in an African language and will have a major impact (…more)
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Dilara
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I liked this novella. It describes the ordeals faced by Eritrean ascaris (African conscripts in the Italian colonial army) send to war against Libyan independence fighters in the 1920s. It also questions their willingness to side with the oppressor against the oppressed. I can see however that some readers might not find it to their tastes because 1) the translator is a non-native speaker of English & 2) it's all tell and no show.

@Liz_M

Dilara Picture of General de Bono inspecting Ascari troops in Asmara (Eritrea) from https://eritreahub.org/italian-minister-of-the-colonies-inspects-eritrean-askari...

Finding a decent-quality picture that was both relevant and not gruesome was harder than I thought.
1y
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Dilara
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I found The Conscript on scribd. It is about an Eritrean conscript fighting on the Italian side in Libya during the Italo-Senussi war, when both #Eritrea and #Libya were part of the Italian colonial empire (although Libya was trying very hard not to be!) Originally written in Tingrinya in 1927 by Gebreyesus Hailu, an Eritrean author, making it an early African novel, and one not written in a colonial language.

Liz_M But did you enjoy it? I have this somewhere.. 1y
Dilara @Liz_M I am enjoying it, but it's early days : I've reached page 40/83. Since the novella proper starts on page 25, that's not far: they're still on the boat and the action hasn't started yet. Not a fan of the introduction, however. 1y
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