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colls's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This was beautifully written and fiercely honest. I found the stories about growing up in Zimbabwe and coming of age in the United States. The loss of home and belonging is so keenly felt. The novel was gripping and I can see why it was nominated for the Booker Prize in 2013.
lavitanuova's review against another edition
fast-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? No
3.25
juniperd's review against another edition
3.0
i have no idea how to review this book, so apologies if this is terrible or convoluted.
this 'novel' grew out of NoViolet Bulawayo's Caine prize-winning short story, hitting budapest. i use 'novel' there because i feel this book is really more a series of connected stories. it may be neither here nor there for you as a reader, but for me, the structure created a strange flow to it, quite abrupt at moments.
10yo darling is our narrator. she and her young friends are navigating a fragile and violent world in zimbabwe - their own homes part of a shantytown ironically named 'paradise'. they visit 'budapest' - a more affluent neighbourhood, where they pick guava from trees, to fill the hunger in their bellies, willing to deal with the digestive consequences. the children grasp at memories of before - before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for work in other countries (some within africa, some abroad). darling is a wise and observant girl. and even though they live with such uncertainty and amid such chaos, the kids do have dreams of better lives - lives where even a lamborghini reventón might be possible. darling has a chance to join her aunt in america, so she travels to this new 'home' in search of its famous abundance - only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few, and fitting in is a monumental challenge.
home and belonging are important ideas in this book. darling's place in zimbabwe - not really a home any longer - creates a rootlessness. many people are looking to elsewhere for their futures. in america, darling also feels out of place, and now that she has left zimbabwe she is emotionally homeless in two countries. with time (and not a lot of it) her connections to paradise thin, but her american connections are only ever tenuous, and her official status as an immigrant is, it seems, nonexistent.
NoViolet Bulawayo, i think, hits every, single socio-economic-political-cultural problem in writing about zimbabwe and africa - colonialism, AIDS, western world NGOs, political unrest, street children, unrelenting poverty and hunger... darling's 11yo friend, chibo, is pregnant - raped by her grandfather. female genital mutilation also appears. it's an overwhelming group of subjects. i felt the zimbabwe part of the book was amazing. it was vivid and poignant. the book lost momentum for me with the shift to america, though. but i am really having trouble putting my finger on where this went sideways for me. i did like the book, and i think bulawayo's writing is wonderful. i will definitely read more from her. i was left curious about whether bulawayo will continue darling's story?
man, this is a mess -- sorry!! i will be thinking on this book some more.
edited to add:
i forgot to make note of this, which is more for my own curiosity - to remember this fact:
bulawayo uses the phrase 'things fall apart' (or variations like falling apart, fell apart) 9 times in this book. hard to ignore, for me. and so [b:Things Fall Apart|37781|Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)|Chinua Achebe|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352082529s/37781.jpg|825843] was often brought to mind. i can only assume this was an acknowledgment on bulawayo's part, and have yet to find any specific articles where she talks about it. #StillLooking
this 'novel' grew out of NoViolet Bulawayo's Caine prize-winning short story, hitting budapest. i use 'novel' there because i feel this book is really more a series of connected stories. it may be neither here nor there for you as a reader, but for me, the structure created a strange flow to it, quite abrupt at moments.
10yo darling is our narrator. she and her young friends are navigating a fragile and violent world in zimbabwe - their own homes part of a shantytown ironically named 'paradise'. they visit 'budapest' - a more affluent neighbourhood, where they pick guava from trees, to fill the hunger in their bellies, willing to deal with the digestive consequences. the children grasp at memories of before - before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for work in other countries (some within africa, some abroad). darling is a wise and observant girl. and even though they live with such uncertainty and amid such chaos, the kids do have dreams of better lives - lives where even a lamborghini reventón might be possible. darling has a chance to join her aunt in america, so she travels to this new 'home' in search of its famous abundance - only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few, and fitting in is a monumental challenge.
home and belonging are important ideas in this book. darling's place in zimbabwe - not really a home any longer - creates a rootlessness. many people are looking to elsewhere for their futures. in america, darling also feels out of place, and now that she has left zimbabwe she is emotionally homeless in two countries. with time (and not a lot of it) her connections to paradise thin, but her american connections are only ever tenuous, and her official status as an immigrant is, it seems, nonexistent.
NoViolet Bulawayo, i think, hits every, single socio-economic-political-cultural problem in writing about zimbabwe and africa - colonialism, AIDS, western world NGOs, political unrest, street children, unrelenting poverty and hunger... darling's 11yo friend, chibo, is pregnant - raped by her grandfather. female genital mutilation also appears. it's an overwhelming group of subjects. i felt the zimbabwe part of the book was amazing. it was vivid and poignant. the book lost momentum for me with the shift to america, though. but i am really having trouble putting my finger on where this went sideways for me. i did like the book, and i think bulawayo's writing is wonderful. i will definitely read more from her. i was left curious about whether bulawayo will continue darling's story?
man, this is a mess -- sorry!! i will be thinking on this book some more.
edited to add:
i forgot to make note of this, which is more for my own curiosity - to remember this fact:
bulawayo uses the phrase 'things fall apart' (or variations like falling apart, fell apart) 9 times in this book. hard to ignore, for me. and so [b:Things Fall Apart|37781|Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)|Chinua Achebe|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352082529s/37781.jpg|825843] was often brought to mind. i can only assume this was an acknowledgment on bulawayo's part, and have yet to find any specific articles where she talks about it. #StillLooking
gobby_gilbert's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sea_empty's review against another edition
3.0
I actually really liked Darlings voice and perspective, despite the child-narrator witnessing heinous things being a trope I usually find gimmicky. And I liked the insights into what life in Zimbabwean shanty town under Mugabe. The second half was a lot less powerful to me, and felt like a plotless stew immigrant experience cliches. It was a fast read though
rosiefpb's review
3.0
Can't decide between two and three stars. For the most part I was kind of like "where's the story?" but I think maybe that was me failing to appreciate the subtleties of the emotional journey, rather than the book it's self being crap. In hindsight, it probably was quite interesting really... ok fine, it can have three stars.
julierambaeck's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I'm sorry... WHAT? I did not like this book AT ALL. I found it very uncomfortable to read, mostly because I felt there were inappropriate things said, that wasn't discussed...
I think this book was meant to feel uncomfortable from time to time, because of the subject matter - but not this much. I found some of the things said from the main character very disrespectful, prejudiced and just annoying.
I think this book was meant to feel uncomfortable from time to time, because of the subject matter - but not this much. I found some of the things said from the main character very disrespectful, prejudiced and just annoying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and War
kathyhope_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5