The History of a Difficult ChildBy: Mihret Sibhat 'Extraordinary' Maaza Mengiste 'Exhilarating' Elif Batuman Selam is the youngest child in a large turbulent family. Even before she is born, her omniscience animates life in a Small Town in 1980s southwestern Ethiopia. Selam and her father listen to the radio in secret as the socialist military junta that recently overthrew the government seizes properties and wages civil war in the North. The Asmelashes, once an enterprising, land