The 17th-century feudal system, vassal uprisings, African folklore, and the Crusades are intertwined with the love between Aster, the daughter of a feudal lord, and Gudu, the court jester and family slave. Aster and Gudu's relationship is the ultimate taboo, but supernatural elements presage a destiny more powerful than the rule of man. With Mezlekia's enchanting storytelling and ironic humor, readers glimpse African deities that have long since weathered away and the social cleavages that have endured through time.
“Mezlekia takes the elements of the simplest of fairy stories—forbidden love, an heiress and a storytelling slave—and embroiders them lushly . . . The imagined world ends up. . . fabulous in the most literal of senses.” —The NY Times
“The God Who Begat a Jackal is everything a novel should be. It delivers an entire world—a profound, comical, moving, and memorable one. The moral and social truths of this novel—subtly and brilliantly evoked—are reminiscent of the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Mezlekia is a writer with extraordinary vision.” —M. Cezair-Thompson
(Group read suggestion from Mia DeGiovine Chaveco, book club co-founder.)
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