We Need New Names: A Novel [J0243]

2013 - HCDJ Nice clean condition. An exciting literary debut: the unflinching and powerful story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and to America. Darling is only ten 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. NoViolet Bulawayo's debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her--from Junot Diaz to Zadie Smith to J.M. Coetzee--while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This novel captures the cost of survival and the ache of displacement with honesty and heart. It reminded me why stories like this matter, and that they humanize big issues and make you confront uncomfortable truths about power, privilege, and what "home" really means."; "I'm very impressed by Bulawayo's ability to tell a story of extreme poverty, governmental oppression, and migration with humor and tenderness. I loved Darling's voice, her sassiness and her confidence."; "This was such an impactful story of identity and displacement, told with such a direct voice, it was brutal at times."