We Need New Names by NoViolet
Bulawayo
This is the story of Darling, a
smart, sassy girl born in a country in Africa.
While the country is never named, Darling always refers to it simply as
“my country,” she was born in Zimbabwe like the author of this novel.
The beginning of the novel takes place in a poorly constructed slum in Zimbabwe where Darling and her friends create games, steal guavas and see the grim reality surrounding them through innocent eyes. As Darling becomes a teenager her aunt sends for her and she travels to Destroyed (read: Detroit) Michigan. This is where the story became bleak for me. As bad as things were in her country her life in Michigan and the menial jobs this smart woman is forced into because of lack of education and proper papers was depressing. An eye-opening book of a country and those forced to leave.
This is simply AMAZING on
audiobook. The author can transform
herself into different ethnicities and people flawlessly. Most amazing was the transformation of
Darling’s voice from the beginning to the end of the book. As the character lives longer and longer in
America her African accent slowly disappears.
It is a work of art.
