A remarkable, engaging and astounding book about the way the Emperor of Ethiopia ruled and fell from power. After the revolution that removed Halie Selassie from power, Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński sought out the surviving staff from the imperial place to hear their stories about imperial life and its decline and fall.
Their description of a closed world is vivid, detailed and full of insight into the mechanics that sustained and finally doomed it. Halie Selassie never leaned to read or write and that was probably a strategic decision, it created degree of ambiguity which he exploited to the full to control and govern. The whole system of government was a series of interlocking pieces that all depended on him and kept those around him in a perpetual state of enmity and faction which prevented anyone combining against him.
The survivors understood deeply the mechanics of the Palace and how power was maintained, they agreed with the process and actively participated in it. They had to, their own position on the ice flow of the Imperial household depended on how successfully they engaged with and supported the process.
The description of the start of a regular day as the Emperor strolled about while being briefed by the three people who were responsible to finding out what everyone else was up to is a classic of managing power by ensuring that everyone was wondering what the other had said to the Emperor. By remaining the only one who knew everything, Halie Selassie kept all off balance and clinging to his favour.
The most extraordinary job in the household was held by the man who had to place the pillow beneath the feet of the Emperor when he sat on a throne. There were a multitude of thrones all over the country, one in every place the Emperor might visit, all were slightly different and so required a different pillow to ensure the imperial dignity was correctly maintained. This man knew the exact height of each throne and had a pillow ready for each one and the skill to put it in place at exactly the right moment. This was not done with any sarcastic intent or recollection, the absolute necessity of the pillow and the timing are explained and the joy in his expertise is evident.
The description of the effect on the neck of anyone honoured by the Emperor is a gem capturing the absurdity of seniors with humour and sharp detail, the impact of being thrown out of favour is equally caught with sharp wit.
The slow disintegration of the regime is detailed by those who knew it was happening and found themselves cling ever more desperately to the Emperor as they saw no future outside of the palace. They understood that the fatal problem was that the rule of the Emperor had to be absolute, it could not manage compromise or accommodation, the first crack was the last one. It would just be a matter of time and the details of the slow demolition are full of rueful hindsight and reflection.
There is very little nostalgia in the accounts, they miss the work and structure of their work, work they understood and took pride in.
Ryszard Kapuściński places the interviews in the context of post revolutionary Ethiopia with deft skill and telling detail.The translation from Polish by William R. Brand,Katarzyna Mrczkowska-Brand is transparent, the voices of the survivors are individual and clear.
Simply put, a brilliant book.
