ክቡር ድንጋይ

ቅምሻ

By author Yismake Worku.

‘The Precious Stone’ (Kibur Dingay) is a novel that carries the reader, from the very first page, into a mysterious and wondrous world. Author Yismake Worku presents it in a singular narrative form. It reveals the body, and the push against truth.

The story begins in astonishing circumstances. Within the book, we are told that Doctor Didimos has been transformed by magic from a man into a dog. Yet he does not know the spell that would transform him back into human form. The character, however, is aware that his mind remains a human mind as before. In this novel he examines his age.

Then he tries to understand his own new condition. Dog sensations and abilities he never noticed as a man, he now experiences within himself. Seeing in the dark, hearing sounds in depth, and distinguishing scents become parts of his new life.

It is a book that demands an intense struggle to be turned from a dog back into a man.

Yet the author warns at the novel’s opening. What does he say? ‘The author is not responsible for any trouble that comes from trying the magic words found in this book.’

‘The Precious Stone’ is a novel by Yismake Worku, who tells the story through a new and distinctive narrative approach. It is a work artfully presented for its creative power, his style of writing, and the singular approach he has shown in his earlier works. The story departs from the conventional novelistic narrative, blending reality with imagination and addressing social and national themes. In particular, the way the main character astonishingly interweaves a human body with doghood deepens the story’s mysterious and imaginative aspect.

The author also illuminates the way he connects the histories of cities and of Ethiopia with the sweep of the novel. ‘Kibur Dingay’ is a book that, translated in England as ‘The Lost Spell’, has been an award-winning work.

To learn what the next page holds, read the book.