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Oromay by Baalu Girma

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Oromay

Kindle Edition

Baalu Girma, David DeGusta, Mesfin Felleke Yirgu

Soho Press · Ebook · January 6, 2026

Reading lane: East African Fiction

A journalist finds himself embroiled in a disastrous government campaign as well as a sweeping romance in this landmark English translation of Ethiopia’s most famous novel.

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Fast Tension

A suspense-forward read that works as both a quick visit and a longer stretch.

Come here for

  • suspenseful momentum
  • easy dip-in reading

Expect

  • thriller energy
  • steady immersion

Book Details

Authors
Baalu Girma, David DeGusta, Mesfin Felleke Yirgu
Publisher
Soho Press
Published
January 6, 2026
Format
Ebook
Theme
East African Fiction · East African History
Reading lane
East African Fiction

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • Spy Fiction

  • Political Thrillers

  • East African Fiction

About This Book

A journalist finds himself embroiled in a disastrous government campaign as well as a sweeping romance in this landmark English translation of Ethiopia’s most famous novel. An engrossing political thriller and a tale of love and war for readers of John Le Carré and Philip Kerr. December 1981, Ethiopia. Tsegaye Hailemaryam, a well-known journalist for the state-run media, has just landed in Asmara. He is on assignment as the head of propaganda for the Red Star campaign, a mas...

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A journalist finds himself embroiled in a disastrous government campaign as well as a sweeping romance in this landmark English translation of Ethiopia’s most famous novel. An engrossing political thriller and a tale of love and war for readers of John Le Carré and Philip Kerr. December 1981, Ethiopia. Tsegaye Hailemaryam, a well-known journalist for the state-run media, has just landed in Asmara. He is on assignment as the head of propaganda for the Red Star campaign, a massive effort by the Ethiopian government to end the Eritrean insurgency. There, amid the city’s bars and coffeehouses buzzing with spies and government agents, he juggles the demands of his superiors while trying to reassure his fiancée back home that he’s not straying with Asmara’s famed beauties. As Tsegaye falls in love with Asmara—and, in spite of his promises, with dazzling, enigmatic local woman Fiammetta—his misgivings about the campaign grow. Tsegaye confronts the horror of war when he is sent with an elite army unit to attack the insurgents’ mountain stronghold. In the aftermath, he encounters betrayals that shake his faith in both the regime and human nature. Oromay became an instant sensation when first published in 1983 and was swiftly banned for its frank depiction of the regime. The author vanished soon thereafter; the consensus is that he was murdered in retaliation for Oromay . A sweeping and timeless story about power and betrayal in love and war, the novel remains Girma’s masterpiece.

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