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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I felt like this book was fairly slow, particularly in the beginning, but I really can't give fewer than 4 stars to any book that moves me to tears.
Starts out with the cheerful childhood memories growing up (¬º-°)¬. Hilarious tales and guava escapades abound. Indeed, Southern Africans need new names (✖╭╮✖), really. Cheerless mood towards the end, sobering and quite disheartening tales in the diaspora.
NoViolet Bulawayo (1981) was in 2013 de eerste Afrikaanse vrouw op de shortlist van de Booker Prize met haar debuutroman We need new names, dat voortbouwt op haar korte verhaal Hitting Budapest. Het is geschreven vanuit de ogen van Darling, een kind dat in Zimbabwe op straat opgroeit en later op een toeristenvisum naar haar tante in Detroit emigreert.
We need new names is goed geschreven en laat een geluid horen dat in Europa schaars is. Wat dat betreft is het goed dat Bulawayo dit jaar opnieuw genomineerd is voor de Booker Prize met haar laatste roman [b:Glory|58491879|Glory|NoViolet Bulawayo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632856370l/58491879._SY75_.jpg|90801991].
Look at them leaving in droves, the children of the land, just look at them leaving in droves. Those with nothing are crossing borders. Those with strength are crossing borders. Those with ambitions are crossing borders. Those with hopes are crossing borders. Those with loss are crossing borders. Those in pain are crossing borders. Moving, running, emigrating, going, deserting, walking, quitting, flying, fleeing – to all over, to countries near and far, to countries unheard of, to countries whose names they cannot pronounce.Darlings leefwereld is ijzersterk beschreven: in een context van ontwakend nationaal zelfbewustzijn en armoede gaat Darling op in wat er wél aanwezig is. De kinderen dromen van landen waarvan ze niets weten, wat me deed denken aan de Georgische weeskinderen in [b:Het perenveld|53162824|Het perenveld|Nana Ekvtimishvili|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570290232l/53162824._SX50_SY75_.jpg|45319246] van Nana Ekvtimisjvili. In de laatste hoofdstukken beschrijft Bulawayo hoe Darling in de Verenigde Staten veramerikaniseert en er een kloof ontstaat tussen haar en Zimbabwe. Dit deel pakt helaas minder boeiend uit.
We need new names is goed geschreven en laat een geluid horen dat in Europa schaars is. Wat dat betreft is het goed dat Bulawayo dit jaar opnieuw genomineerd is voor de Booker Prize met haar laatste roman [b:Glory|58491879|Glory|NoViolet Bulawayo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632856370l/58491879._SY75_.jpg|90801991].
This books can be clearly divided into two very distinct eras of Darling's life: Zimbabwe and the U.S. it's about a young girl growing up in a not so child friendly environment and the somewhat innocence she maintains while her country unravels. Like other immigrants all over the world, she moves to another country for a better chance at life, but faces challenges adjusting to the new culture. The dangers she knew at home are different than the dangers she faces as a Black person in America. All the while she must acknowledge that she cannot truly relate to those left at home. She struggles like so many others, defining her role in her new country while maintaining some sort of semblance of her former self.
Very good in parts, but to me, it was disjointed and didn't really pull together
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4/5stars
Really bummed that I had to fly through/skim the majority of this book cause I think I could have LOVED it - so I'm basing my rating off of that. That's what happens when you have to read a 300 page book AND write a 6 page essay on said book all within the same week - thanks college.
Really bummed that I had to fly through/skim the majority of this book cause I think I could have LOVED it - so I'm basing my rating off of that. That's what happens when you have to read a 300 page book AND write a 6 page essay on said book all within the same week - thanks college.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
NoViolet truly is exceptional at her craft, her book 'Glory' has stuck with me since I've read it, and this didn't disappoint either. From the beginning, where the reader is dropped straight into the middle of a guava stealing operation among a group of children, I was immersed in the story. The story goes on to make a lot of important points, but rather than over-explaining them to us, NoViolet lets the flighty but perceptive nature of a child narrator paint us a picture instead, making a lot of scathing critiques of the West and its perception of Africans.
The stream-of-consciousness narration, paired with 10-year-old Darling witnessing but not always understanding the horrors happening around her (child rape and pregnancy, AIDS, suicide, FGM etc.), made for a difficult read. While the kids are engaging in constant play, the reader understands the implications of their day-to-day (neglect, abject poverty, lack of schooling, parental prostitution), which the kids themselves don't seem to dwell on too long, somehow managing to hold onto some of their innocence.
Despite this as Darling tries to adjust to her life in America later, there is still a sense of nostalgia and warmth at her memories of Paradise in spite of all the difficult things she's had to endure. I found her struggles as an immigrant particularly touching, and her yearning for her home, to which she can't return and where all her people have left a piece of their soul, was really poignant.
The stream-of-consciousness narration, paired with 10-year-old Darling witnessing but not always understanding the horrors happening around her (child rape and pregnancy, AIDS, suicide, FGM etc.), made for a difficult read. While the kids are engaging in constant play, the reader understands the implications of their day-to-day (neglect, abject poverty, lack of schooling, parental prostitution), which the kids themselves don't seem to dwell on too long, somehow managing to hold onto some of their innocence.
Despite this as Darling tries to adjust to her life in America later, there is still a sense of nostalgia and warmth at her memories of Paradise in spite of all the difficult things she's had to endure. I found her struggles as an immigrant particularly touching, and her yearning for her home, to which she can't return and where all her people have left a piece of their soul, was really poignant.
This was actually a really interesting read, but I have no idea what the point of the story was. It seemed a bit all over the place and the ending was confusing. Still enjoyed reading it though.
I give five stars to a lot of books, but this one really touched me on a deep level. Beautiful exploration of the African immigrant experience told from a young girl's perspective on identity, war, violence, diaspora, and assimilation into a new country. Such an honest, painful, and lovely story that goes straight to the heart.