Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo

20 reviews

foreverinastory's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Glory is an allegory of Animal Farm set in the historical background of the Zimbabwe revolution (1980s-2019). We follow various animals as they fills roles of historical figures and we see how dictatorship follows the patterns laid out in Orwell's fictional piece.

This was a very compelling and emotional story. I loved the way repetition and humor were used as tools in the narrative. The audiobook narrator (Chipo Chung) was absolutely incredible and brought a rhythm to the story with the way they repeated words with various intonations.

Bulawayo did a beautiful job of crafting this intricate historical fiction. I am glad I read this immediately following Animal Farm. Such an interesting juxtaposition. There were so many characters followed in this story, but I was most invested in Destiny's and my heart felt all the emotions. *insert tears*

Rep: All Zimbabwean cast.

CWs: Violence, genocide, war, rape, police brutality, murder, colonisation, death, gun violence, grief, misogyny, sexual assault, torture, blood, classism, sexual violence, religious bigotry, sexism, injury/injury detail, child death, gore, physical abuse, racism. Moderate: suicide (off-page action, on-page mention), xenophobia, mass shooting, death of parent, animal death, body horror, cursing, homophobia/homomisia, slavery, panic attacks, fire/fire injury, vomit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and War

olivialambert97's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Powerful and poetically written

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Violence, and War

differentsisters's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

 I see what the author was trying to do. Once I got use to the inclusion of Zimbabwean dialect, the book was readable. What became tiring was the heavy heavy use of repetition (a whole page of just the word take). I could see why some uses of repetition was used, but it became tiresome and felt like an editor needed to cut at least a hundred pages of repetition. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Homophobia

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

3.75

I really enjoyed Bulawayo’s previous novel, We Need New Names, and had high expectations for Glory. She certainly delivered with unique storytelling (I actually read the book alongside the audiobook, which really made a difference) and interesting characters. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken to the plot as I thought I would be, mostly due to pacing and repetitiveness. However, this book is clever, especially the way she expanded on George Orwell’s Animal Farm to satirize the Zimbabwean coup d’état in 2017, as well as to provide other commentary on other topics such as colonialism and racism. On that note, I wish I knew more about this to further appreciate what Bulawayo wrote, though I certainly could see elements of this book taking place in other oppressive countries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and War

Minor: Gore

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 Like Animal Farm, Glory is an animal allegory, but based on recent political events in Zimbabwe, including the 2017 overthrow of Robert Mugabe and its aftermath. And while the comparisons are inevitable Glory makes it clear right from the start that it is not another Animal Farm. I’d say it is much richer and more immersive, and it’s animals are less animal like - no living in barns or interacting with farmers - but used in a metaphorical way.

Satire can be a bit hit and miss for me, but I was totally on board with this book. The skewering of corrupt, egotistical, self-serving political and religious leaders was spot on - although sadly it was hard to tell what was exaggeration, comedy, irony or farce and what was purely based on fact. However, this book doesn’t just highlight and poke fun at such behaviour but places it in its historical and international context - factors like colonialism and economic exploitation by foreign firms- and shows the very real cost to ordinary citizens who were the victims of state sanctioned beatings, murder and genocide, and whose standard of living was deliberately degraded so leaders could live lavishly. It also highlights resistance by the population and some of my favourite sections were snippets of overheard conversations from ordinary mals or social media exchanges. The role played by femals in confronting and resisting abuses of power and human rights violations, and the importance of international support were highlighted in this tale.

This is a distinctly Zimbabwean story, not only in the basis for its plot, but also in its language and style which I loved. The playfulness of some metaphors, the repetition of words and phrases - some for paragraphs at a time, others just regular refrains - added a sense of unity and power, as well as linking to an oral storytelling tradition. However you don’t need to have knowledge of Zimbabwe’s history to appreciate Glory, for it’s themes and messages, like political corruption itself, are universal.

An entertaining read with an important read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Police brutality, and Colonisation

hilaryreadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kayschwe's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War