I’ve been blurbed!

Stopping into McNally Jackson on my lunch hour the other day, I noticed that Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, a fine novel about the Ethiopian revolution that I reviewed last March, is now available in paperback. I turned it over to read the blurbs, and there at the bottom was a short quote from the Christian Science Monitor—that is, me.

Ambitious and accomplished.... Intelligent and moving, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze provides a window into a complex and ancient country.

It was a strange feeling. I’ve never been blurbed before, as far as I know. Maybe if I start including phrases in my reviews like “Best book of the decade!” and “Couldn’t put it down!” and “Luminous and heartbreaking!” it will happen more often.