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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Leaving in droves…
I admit to being somewhat conflicted about my view of this book. Worthy of its shortlisting for the 2013 Booker, I agree, but I’m also rather glad it didn’t win. Let me start by getting my criticisms out of the way and then I’ll try to explain why I think it’s very much worth reading nonetheless.
This is the story of Darling, a young girl living in a shanty town in Zimbabwe. When we first meet her, she is ten and spends most of her time with her little group of friends. Through them, we get a child’s-eye view of the devastation that has been wrought on the country during the Mugabe period. At the half-way point, Darling is sent to America to live with her aunt in Michigan, and the second half is taken up with seeing the immigrant experience as Darling learns about this society that is so different from anything she has known.
"To play country game…first we have to fight over the names because everybody wants to be certain countries, like everybody wants to be the USA and Britain and Canada and Australia and Switzerland and France and Italy and Sweden and Germany and Russia and Greece and them. These are the country-countries…Nobody wants to be rags of countries like Congo, like Somalia, like Iraq, like Sudan, like Haiti, like Sri Lanka, and not even this one we live in – who wants to be a terrible place of hunger and things falling apart?"
The problem I have is that it feels a little as if Bulawayo has started by writing down a list of all the bad things we associate with Zimbabwe and then a similar list of all the downsides of the US. The book is episodic with each chapter being a little story on its own, and each story has a ‘point’. So we get the chapter on Aids, one on female genital mutilation, then incest and rape, white people being run off their properties, the rigging of elections and the violence that goes along with that, and so on. In America, we get out of control kids, school shootings, porn, obsession with looks and weight, celebrity culture etc. It’s a bleak picture of both countries with the over-riding feeling being that the grass isn’t as much greener for immigrants as they expected it to be. It all feels a little contrived and amalgamated, and I couldn’t help feeling that, firstly, it wasn’t telling me much I didn’t know and, secondly, that there was an almost exploitative and voyeuristic element to the stringing together of all of these horrors.
However…
The writing is fresh and original and Darling and her friends are brought vividly to life, especially in the Zimbabwean section. With a less than thorough understanding of what’s going on around them, they are the observers – the reader is the interpreter. Although there’s never enough food to go round (except briefly when the NGOs pay their regular visits) there is a sense of community – a community that is tottering on the point of collapse, yes, but still hanging on to old traditions. Despite all the bad things happening around them, the children seem on the surface to be like children anywhere – breaking rules and taking risks, full of bravado when in their group, dreaming of a better future. Bulawayo very effectively uses the games they play to show the effect that their experiences have had on them – games based on the relative importance of countries with their own country low on the list, games of Find bin Laden; and gradually, as they witness more and more violent and irrational behaviour around them, the games darken too.
I found the American portion of the book patchier in its effectiveness, but Bulawayo gets across very clearly the difficulties of learning to live in a new culture, always speaking in a second language, and the longing for home. She writes very movingly about the people left behind in Zimbabwe, relying on the dollars that the immigrants send home. And she gives a believable and poignant picture of this young girl gradually losing touch with the friends and family back home, unable to explain to them what she is experiencing in the reality of this new world they have dreamed about.
I found Bulawayo’s writing style hugely skilful in giving an authenticity to Darling’s voice throughout and allowing her language to grow and change as she moves through adolescence. Although I had a problem with the tick-list of horrors, I still found myself moved deeply on several occasions, and in particular by the short chapter at the centre of the book – an interlude between the two sections, where Bulawayo describes the exodus of a generation from her troubled homeland in language so beautiful and evocative it could fairly be described as a prose poem.
"Look at the children of the land leaving in droves, leaving their own land with bleeding wounds on their bodies and shock on their faces and blood in their hearts and hunger in their stomachs and grief in their footsteps. Leaving their mothers and fathers and children behind, leaving their umbilical cords underneath the soil, leaving the bones of their ancestors in the earth, leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay."
So in the end, the quality of the writing and language, together with the emotionalism that Bulawayo achieves without ever allowing mawkishness to creep in, makes this a book that I am glad I have read and highly recommend.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
I admit to being somewhat conflicted about my view of this book. Worthy of its shortlisting for the 2013 Booker, I agree, but I’m also rather glad it didn’t win. Let me start by getting my criticisms out of the way and then I’ll try to explain why I think it’s very much worth reading nonetheless.
This is the story of Darling, a young girl living in a shanty town in Zimbabwe. When we first meet her, she is ten and spends most of her time with her little group of friends. Through them, we get a child’s-eye view of the devastation that has been wrought on the country during the Mugabe period. At the half-way point, Darling is sent to America to live with her aunt in Michigan, and the second half is taken up with seeing the immigrant experience as Darling learns about this society that is so different from anything she has known.
"To play country game…first we have to fight over the names because everybody wants to be certain countries, like everybody wants to be the USA and Britain and Canada and Australia and Switzerland and France and Italy and Sweden and Germany and Russia and Greece and them. These are the country-countries…Nobody wants to be rags of countries like Congo, like Somalia, like Iraq, like Sudan, like Haiti, like Sri Lanka, and not even this one we live in – who wants to be a terrible place of hunger and things falling apart?"
The problem I have is that it feels a little as if Bulawayo has started by writing down a list of all the bad things we associate with Zimbabwe and then a similar list of all the downsides of the US. The book is episodic with each chapter being a little story on its own, and each story has a ‘point’. So we get the chapter on Aids, one on female genital mutilation, then incest and rape, white people being run off their properties, the rigging of elections and the violence that goes along with that, and so on. In America, we get out of control kids, school shootings, porn, obsession with looks and weight, celebrity culture etc. It’s a bleak picture of both countries with the over-riding feeling being that the grass isn’t as much greener for immigrants as they expected it to be. It all feels a little contrived and amalgamated, and I couldn’t help feeling that, firstly, it wasn’t telling me much I didn’t know and, secondly, that there was an almost exploitative and voyeuristic element to the stringing together of all of these horrors.
However…
The writing is fresh and original and Darling and her friends are brought vividly to life, especially in the Zimbabwean section. With a less than thorough understanding of what’s going on around them, they are the observers – the reader is the interpreter. Although there’s never enough food to go round (except briefly when the NGOs pay their regular visits) there is a sense of community – a community that is tottering on the point of collapse, yes, but still hanging on to old traditions. Despite all the bad things happening around them, the children seem on the surface to be like children anywhere – breaking rules and taking risks, full of bravado when in their group, dreaming of a better future. Bulawayo very effectively uses the games they play to show the effect that their experiences have had on them – games based on the relative importance of countries with their own country low on the list, games of Find bin Laden; and gradually, as they witness more and more violent and irrational behaviour around them, the games darken too.
I found the American portion of the book patchier in its effectiveness, but Bulawayo gets across very clearly the difficulties of learning to live in a new culture, always speaking in a second language, and the longing for home. She writes very movingly about the people left behind in Zimbabwe, relying on the dollars that the immigrants send home. And she gives a believable and poignant picture of this young girl gradually losing touch with the friends and family back home, unable to explain to them what she is experiencing in the reality of this new world they have dreamed about.
I found Bulawayo’s writing style hugely skilful in giving an authenticity to Darling’s voice throughout and allowing her language to grow and change as she moves through adolescence. Although I had a problem with the tick-list of horrors, I still found myself moved deeply on several occasions, and in particular by the short chapter at the centre of the book – an interlude between the two sections, where Bulawayo describes the exodus of a generation from her troubled homeland in language so beautiful and evocative it could fairly be described as a prose poem.
"Look at the children of the land leaving in droves, leaving their own land with bleeding wounds on their bodies and shock on their faces and blood in their hearts and hunger in their stomachs and grief in their footsteps. Leaving their mothers and fathers and children behind, leaving their umbilical cords underneath the soil, leaving the bones of their ancestors in the earth, leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible to stay."
So in the end, the quality of the writing and language, together with the emotionalism that Bulawayo achieves without ever allowing mawkishness to creep in, makes this a book that I am glad I have read and highly recommend.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Darling is only 10 years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad. But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few.
This was a struggle for me from beginning to end. I knew as I was reading it that this book is important and that I should appreciate it. But although I did think about it a lot and although I can respect the author's point of view, her storytelling style, described as "raw" and "harsh," left me completely cold. Aside from three lyrical, almost poem-like essays on the immigrant experience where the author departs from her primary narrative, Darling's biting coldness prevented me from truly sympathizing with her, let alone rooting for her. I felt that Bulawayo was keeping me at bay instead of inviting me in. Reviews have praised her for not trying to create universal truths (i.e. "we're all more alike than we realize"), but without that ability to reach out to her audience, the book reads as a rather esoteric invective and one I was ultimately glad to be done with.
This was a struggle for me from beginning to end. I knew as I was reading it that this book is important and that I should appreciate it. But although I did think about it a lot and although I can respect the author's point of view, her storytelling style, described as "raw" and "harsh," left me completely cold. Aside from three lyrical, almost poem-like essays on the immigrant experience where the author departs from her primary narrative, Darling's biting coldness prevented me from truly sympathizing with her, let alone rooting for her. I felt that Bulawayo was keeping me at bay instead of inviting me in. Reviews have praised her for not trying to create universal truths (i.e. "we're all more alike than we realize"), but without that ability to reach out to her audience, the book reads as a rather esoteric invective and one I was ultimately glad to be done with.
The book: We Need New Names
The author: NoViolet Bulawayo (real name Elizabeth Zandile Tshele), Zimbabwean author and Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.
The subject: The story of Darling, a young Zimbabwean girl, and her coming-of-age as she emigrates to the United States as a teenager.
Why I chose it: I admit, the cover drew me in while I was browsing in the library.
The rating: Four stars
What I thought of it: I've been making an effort to read fiction from different perspectives than I am used to. This book certainly fit the bill -- a story about a girl growing up in Zimbabwe (though the country is never actually named) who emigrates to Michigan as a teenager written by a woman who grew up in Zimbabwe and emigrated to Michigan as a university student. I'm not sure how autobiographical this story is. Suggesting it might be is not a strike against the book, as that sort of experience is far more valuable than any amount of research in the library. Plus, there is the fact that Darling's story is set in more modern times. Time will tell whether this dates the book, as can often be the case when contemporary pop culture references find their way into fiction.
Anyway, on to the actual story. It's actually more like a series of vignettes linked together than a novel with a clear plot, so if that sort of thing turns you off then I suppose this is one to avoid. However, I can overlook a lack of this sort of plot if I care about the characters (or, if they're unpleasant, find them compelling enough not to chuck the book out the window), which I did in "We Need New Names". The contrast between the fun and games of the children and the darkness of the wider world was put to good effect. I particularly enjoyed the part where the white NGO workers come and are duly mocked (their photographing of Darling's pregnant friend Chipo is compared to paparazzi chasing Paris Hilton). It also explored the cultural shift Darling experiences as she emigrates to the US in a very interesting way that made me want to read more. I haven't read much about the immigrant experience and will definitely pick up some more books on the subject following this one.
I really liked this book and it was an enjoyable read, even if the topics covered weren't always particularly uplifting. I definitely recommend it; I only wish it could have gone on a little longer and explored later parts of Darling's life, as it ended rather abruptly.
Just one more thing: In case you were curious about Bulawayo's pen name, as I was, here is an explanation of it from this Wall Street Journal article:
The author: NoViolet Bulawayo (real name Elizabeth Zandile Tshele), Zimbabwean author and Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.
The subject: The story of Darling, a young Zimbabwean girl, and her coming-of-age as she emigrates to the United States as a teenager.
Why I chose it: I admit, the cover drew me in while I was browsing in the library.
The rating: Four stars
What I thought of it: I've been making an effort to read fiction from different perspectives than I am used to. This book certainly fit the bill -- a story about a girl growing up in Zimbabwe (though the country is never actually named) who emigrates to Michigan as a teenager written by a woman who grew up in Zimbabwe and emigrated to Michigan as a university student. I'm not sure how autobiographical this story is. Suggesting it might be is not a strike against the book, as that sort of experience is far more valuable than any amount of research in the library. Plus, there is the fact that Darling's story is set in more modern times. Time will tell whether this dates the book, as can often be the case when contemporary pop culture references find their way into fiction.
Anyway, on to the actual story. It's actually more like a series of vignettes linked together than a novel with a clear plot, so if that sort of thing turns you off then I suppose this is one to avoid. However, I can overlook a lack of this sort of plot if I care about the characters (or, if they're unpleasant, find them compelling enough not to chuck the book out the window), which I did in "We Need New Names". The contrast between the fun and games of the children and the darkness of the wider world was put to good effect. I particularly enjoyed the part where the white NGO workers come and are duly mocked (their photographing of Darling's pregnant friend Chipo is compared to paparazzi chasing Paris Hilton). It also explored the cultural shift Darling experiences as she emigrates to the US in a very interesting way that made me want to read more. I haven't read much about the immigrant experience and will definitely pick up some more books on the subject following this one.
I really liked this book and it was an enjoyable read, even if the topics covered weren't always particularly uplifting. I definitely recommend it; I only wish it could have gone on a little longer and explored later parts of Darling's life, as it ended rather abruptly.
Just one more thing: In case you were curious about Bulawayo's pen name, as I was, here is an explanation of it from this Wall Street Journal article:
As part of her transformation to being a writer, Ms. Bulawayo decided at university she needed a new name herself, adopting her pen name from Elizabeth Tshele. Violet was her mother’s name. She passed away when Ms. Bulawayo was 18 months old. The “no” in the southern African language Ndebele means “with,” so in essence the first name suggests she’ll always be “with” her mother Violet. Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s second-largest city and is where Ms. Bulawayo spent her childhood and still calls home.
For some reason I just didn't really enjoy this book. I guess it was your typical Africa-to-America book and when the girl got to America I really lost interest in the novel. A good story and well-written but not of my interest
Very enjoyable read. Learning about all perspectives of life in zimbabwe and out of Zimbabwe. I loved migrant experience part of the book as this is what so many people go through. I definately recommend this book
[closer to 4.5....]
This is a story about place and identity, and how we are shaped by all of our individual versions of "home." Powerful imagery - Bulawayo really knows how to paint a picture. I found the chapter toward the end in which Tshaka Zulu sort of takes over as narrator really compelling, especially the way he describes the proper way, in Zimbabwe, to mourn the death of a loved one. His fear that his soul will be doomed to wander without peace because certain customs won't be upheld by his American children.
The style is refreshing - fluid without being haphazard, definitely moving in a direction. The chapter names are apt, and provide enough set-up without giving away the themes.
I had left the last 5 pages or so for myself to read before leaving for work this morning, for some reason. I was running late, but sat to finish anyway. This book lured me in like that.
This is a story about place and identity, and how we are shaped by all of our individual versions of "home." Powerful imagery - Bulawayo really knows how to paint a picture. I found the chapter toward the end in which Tshaka Zulu sort of takes over as narrator really compelling, especially the way he describes the proper way, in Zimbabwe, to mourn the death of a loved one. His fear that his soul will be doomed to wander without peace because certain customs won't be upheld by his American children.
The style is refreshing - fluid without being haphazard, definitely moving in a direction. The chapter names are apt, and provide enough set-up without giving away the themes.
I had left the last 5 pages or so for myself to read before leaving for work this morning, for some reason. I was running late, but sat to finish anyway. This book lured me in like that.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Look at the children of the land leaving in droves, leaving their own land with bleeding wounds on their bodies and shock on their faces and blood in their hearts and hunger in their stomachs and grief in their footsteps. Leaving their mothers and fathers and children behind... leaving everything that makes them who and what they are, leaving because it is no longer possible for them to stay. They will never be the same again because you cannot be the same once you leave behind who and what you are, you just cannot be the same.”
Haunted by this one. While I enjoyed the story and writing as a whole, there are single chapters of masterful prose that knocked me on my ass. The fourth star is for them.
Haunted by this one. While I enjoyed the story and writing as a whole, there are single chapters of masterful prose that knocked me on my ass. The fourth star is for them.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Parts of this book were amazing other parts I found myself asking myself what I was reading. Like wow.