"Lucy's People skilfully documents an intimate perspective on an ethically complex time and place."___Ben Claessens

Lucy's People: An Ethiopian Memoir is the inspiring story of a country and a life. In 1991, the communist Derg falls, and a foreign-backed rebel government is destroying infrastructure, cultural heritage and institutions. Young Mesfin must choose: stay in Ethiopia or flee? He has already endured 17 years of torment yet is dedicated to family and motherland.

The recipient of a UN Development Programme scholarship, Mesfin is both a construction and civil engineer specialising in water development. Driven to serve people, he appreciates generosity and professionalism in others. He quotes monastic physicians: 'With love you have the power to heal in your hands. Never think that you are better than someone else.'

In 1974, the communist revolution had brought the Red Terror, hunger and imprisonment. Related to Emperor Haile Selassie I on both parents' sides, teenage Mesfin and family have been prime targets. Mesfin is conscripted to Airborne service at the front. How does his spirit remain intact? Is it thanks to his Falasha faith and Kidane Mihret, the spiritual being revered by Ethiopians of all religions? How about the example of Lucy, an early hominid from the Rift Valley. For 3.2-million-years, the fossil of her almost complete skeleton endured. "To Ethiopians, she was a symbolic mother. Hers was a story of miraculous survival. So was ours."

His matter-of-fact attitude lightens the book's tone. Here he is at seven, in strife at the palace: 'Am I to be hung in the square like Belay Zeleq?' The official smiled. 'Can I see Mum first?'

Unable to choose where he works, Mesfin retains high standards. He listens to landowners, supporting traditional land management. Responsible for a dam and water treatment plant at a factory on pristine Oromo land, he reduces air pollution, and his planning supports honey production and fishing. The factory's immediate surroundings thrive: "Muger Cement Factory looked as though it were in the middle of a forest. Bird and animal life flourished."

This Australian reviewer writes, "Humming with heartfelt energy, Mesfin Tadesse's memoirs span a transformative and troubled era... Engaging to the last, Lucy's People runs the gamut of human emotion. It strikes the tone of an affectionate elegy, such that it feels, at one moment, warmly descriptive, and at yet another, quietly indignant. In this manner, it weaves between the personal and the political: a feat widely accomplished with playful, acerbic wit. Readers can expect an appetising dose of flavourful detail, but without fear of excessive nostalgia or sentimentality. The storytelling remains consistently inventive, and rewards with gripping vignettes starring spirited personalities. These memoirs thereby tell the story of many – a story of resilient compassion and defiant pride." ___Ben Claessens

An African reviewer considers the author's resilience: "A powerful memoir... It is perhaps his bright mind, love of his family and strong bonds of friendship which give him constant hope and get him through some of the toughest times any human can face. There is a line in the book where he quotes his mother: "The dark side of life cannot be avoided. Put it away. Make your daily life full of spice. Do not waste life"." ____Miss M.

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