Rebecca Haile – a New Star in the Ethiopian Literary Firmament

It is rather difficult to determine the genre of the book "Held at a distance: my rediscovery of Ethiopia" by Rebecca Haile – it is part travelogue, part history, part memoir but reads like an autobiographical novel. The story is about a young Ethiopian woman who in 1976 was forced to flee to the United States of America with her family during Ethiopia’s “Red Terror”. Rebecca grew up in Minnesota where her father, professor Getatchew Haile worked at St. John’s Col-lege as a scientist. After 25 years in the USA Rebecca decided to return to her native country and her visit dislodges so many Western stereotypes of Africa. She admires the great cultural heritage of the ancient times, respects its history and rich civilization. Her insight into Ethiopia is so unique that it reveals her to us as a very talented young writer.