heatherli25's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
gennysreadingroom's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This book is just stunning. Lyrical, funny, and heartbreaking. I will read anything Bulawayo writes forever.
whelks's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zuzakostek's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
chaostalking's review
4.0
Definitely a grower, but one that I think earns the patience it demands of the reader. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking; a rhythmic, sensitive reflection on (among other things) tyranny, corruption, political violence, trauma and the ongoing hope and fight for liberation in post-independence nations, in Africa and beyond.
deinonychus's review
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Incredible political satire that looks at Jidada with a Da and another Da in a brilliant proxy for Mugabe's Zimbabwe. Accentuates the ridiculousness inherent in totalitarianism while treating heavy topics with the respect they deserve. A thorough analysis on the psychology of dictatorship and why we all to often sit by and do nothing. Orwell's influence is strong in this work, but NoViolet Bulawayo takes the tried and true narrative device and transforms it into something fresh. Highly recommended.
laurafd's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
sarahweyand's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Honestly I feel kind of bad for disliking this one because I think the concept and the message are important. I appreciated the obvious nod to Animal Farm, and sometimes I thought there was nice prose. But this book was a slog if I've ever read one. I had to switch to the audiobook halfway through or I definitely would have DNF'ed it. I found the majority of the prose to be superfluous and overly repetitive (I'm talking literal pages of lists or repeated words). The story was told in such a style that the characters seemed flat and impossible to connect with. There was less satire and humor than I was hoping for.
This book was a definite step outside my comfort zone to fulfill one of my reading challenges of reading a book from a different literary award shortlist each month, and I wish it had paid off more.
This book was a definite step outside my comfort zone to fulfill one of my reading challenges of reading a book from a different literary award shortlist each month, and I wish it had paid off more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Violence
Minor: Colonisation
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I would say you'd get more out of this book on audio because NoViolet Bulawayo has used conventions of oral storytelling that I struggle to imagine having their proper impact in print.
This book is a call-to-arms for any citizen who has sleep-walked into allowing authoritarianism to take hold on their country. However, it leaves unanswered what happens after a popular revolt when all the mechanisms of governance are smashed?
This book is a call-to-arms for any citizen who has sleep-walked into allowing authoritarianism to take hold on their country. However, it leaves unanswered what happens after a popular revolt when all the mechanisms of governance are smashed?