And Still Plays the Abyssinian Damsel on her Dulcimer

Download or read book And Still Plays the Abyssinian Damsel on her Dulcimer written by Alexander Raju and published by Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency. This book was released on 2015 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: And Still Plays the Abyssinian Damsel on Her Dulcimer is a novel based on Ethiopian history and legends. The story has thirteen chapters representing the thirteen months in the Ethiopian calendar. The narrator, a professor at an Ethiopian University, flies from Mumbai to Addis Ababa, and then to his destination. He is haunted by the Abyssinian damsel whom the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge saw in a dream and described in his poem “Kubla Khan.” The Abyssinian damsel tells the story of Ethiopia from prehistoric to modern times, revealing herself as one who visited King Solomon together with the Queen of Sheba. The Rift Valley of Ethiopia, where three-million-year-old human fossils have been discovered, is considered the birthplace of Homo sapiens. A myriad of legends like the Serpent Kings and Queen Gudit intertwine with Ethiopia’s history. Reviewing the novel, Barbara Biehler wrote, “A fine writing style and tells a great story.”