The Lost Spell
By Yismake Worku (translated by Bethlehem Attfield)
Publication date: August 2021
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“While researching a book of spells, a wealthy man transforms himself into a dog. We follow the (now) canine protagonist as he journeys to Addis Ababa, and through his eyes we witness the sublime beauty of the Ethiopian landscape. The story of one man’s literal dehumanization allegorizes the abasement our narrator witnesses around him as he simultaneously lauds and laments his country… Worku presents a fly-on-the-wall (or a dog-on-the-road) view of contemporary Ethiopia that is at once a critique and a bittersweet love letter.” - Asymptote Journal
Unable to remember the spell that will make him human again, Dore takes the road home to Addis Ababa stripped of his status and language. As he travels fearfully through the towns along the way he sees Ethiopian history and politics from a new perspective. He strains to keep himself at the centre of his world.
“Yismake Worku is an Ethiopian novelist who is known for his prolific writing as well as for experimenting with new writing styles. When his bestselling novel Dertogada was released, Amharic novel readers received it with great enchantment. Yismake is not the kind of writer who always sticks to one genre, just because it was a success. He is set to explore new ways.
The Lost Spell is a result of such exploration. In this book Yismake sometimes narrates a single event to what seems like an eternity, and at other times summarizes what happened in one era in a moment. At times he uses his linguistic skills to present poetic narrations that are breathtaking; at other times he lets his ideas slowly flow like a river.
The precise social, political and cultural critique he outlines at a time when the country was going through political turmoil is witness to his brilliance as well as bravery.” - Dr. Admasu Meshesha
Bethlehem Attfield, translator of Adam Reta’s Requiem For Potatoes, continues to bring contemporary Ethiopian writing into English. Her translation of The Lost Spell reveals a radically different psychogeography, as beguiling in Amharic as it is in English.
Quick select rewards
Novice
PLUS:
- Your name listed in the back of the book.
Adept
PLUS:
- A printed proof of the novel before general release
- Exclusive discount rate - will be £80 after presale
- Your name listed in the back of the book
-
David Henningham
Yismake Worku is a brilliant and influential young Ethiopian novelist. Bethlehem Attfield's translation of The Lost Spell gives us a glimpse of a contemporary novelist redefining political satire within a radically different psychogeography.
Bethlehem Attfield is an Amharic-English literary translator and author. She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She studied English language and literature in Addis Ababa University, and worked for eight years before leaving Ethiopia for the UK in 1998 to study for a Masters degree. Attfield’s translation of Requiem For Potatoes by Adam Reta, with original music and songs, was published as an audiobook in 2020. She also founded the Ethiopian Literary Translators Network.
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It has been a horrible few days. I feel like some life has been drained from my short dog existence. If I hadn’t managed to drag myself into the middle of a corn farm, I would have been picked apart by merciless scavenging birds.
The cause of my pitiful circumstances was an auto-rickshaw accident. If the God of dogs and all creation hadn’t spared me, I would have departed my dog life by now. The rickshaw didn’t hit me full on; it knocked me on my left rear, bending me like a rubber and causing me to plunge into a drain. An unseasonal rain had been pouring down all evening. So, the flood could have carried an elephant, let alone a battered dog. It hauled me along the garbage of Shashemene. Banging me around with every object it carried along, the flood finally threw me into a small river. The river in turn dragged me through shrubs, sometimes battering me against rocks, and deposited me near a cornfield.
I spent the night looking like a chick covered in mud. I couldn’t get up in the morning, so I spent the whole day baking in the sun. Towards the evening I dragged myself with all my strength and collapsed in the cornfield.
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