colleen stinchcombe

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

This is a really gorgeous book. I think my only criticism is I could have easily spent a few hundred more pages with the main character. I wanted to more time spend with her coming to her own in America, the challenges that presents. 

There’s a lot going on in this book, in a good way. Religion, poverty, apartheid, race, abuse, immigration, feminism… just to name a view. Bulawayo is sharp, and not-super-obvious. Darling (the main character) is a gorgeous insight into family and beliefs and getting what you wanted (…and then wondering if you really wanted it.)

Read this when you want to see the world through the eyes of someone who is probably rather different to you (unless you happen to be a Zimbabwean living in the U.S.)