A remarkable literary debut–shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 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 … 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.
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This book does an excellent job of introducing the non-immigrant reader to a new place, a new culture and way of life. I identify with ii because I had to learn to assimilate in America when I came from Haiti and I’ve gained some and lost some. I lost my name (not too many can pronounce) and become someone else. The title has many meanings to me. It tackles the issue of living here illegally, of not being able to return home. It’s a poignant and informative read.
This story is about Darling who lives in Zimbabwe with her friends and family. At 10 years old, she spends most of her days with her friends playing pretend, stealing fruit, and going to school. Soon – things change in Zimbabwe and it becomes a dangerous place to be. The schools close. Darling has a chance to leave it all behind and go to America to live with an aunt. Her family sends her knowing she will be safe.
After dreaming of America and all that she and her friends thought she would get to see and do there, reality hit her hard. While her life was better than it was in Zimbabwe, it wasn’t what she thought it would be. She was left witht the struggles of being an immigrant in a foreign land and trying to adjust to what she left behind.
I really liked this book. I think it is well written and rich in descriptive text. The author tells the story well from a child’s point of view. It doesn’t dig deep into the problems of Zimbabwe, however. It does tell a poignant story of how a child spent her days with her best friends – dreaming and hoping like all children do. I did enjoy the part of the book that took place in Zimbabwe more than the half that took place in America, and I was hoping that the author returned her character back to Zimbabwe – at least for a visit, yet she did not.
Great book. I highly recommend.
This is the first on the list of a stack of books written by authors from sh*thole countries I am making a point to read in 2018.
And it does not disappoint.
The journey taken by the young protagonist from unimaginable, abject poverty in Zimbabwe to lower middle class in (and this is something I will ALWAYS treasure), “Destroyed Michygen” is both humorous and horrifying. The way Darling describes her every day life as one of hunger, deprivation, disease and bullying governments is so matter of fact it almost lulls you into thinking that it is, or should be, normal.
It’s not. Nor should it be.
The juxtaposition of this with of her life as a half-forgotten member of her aunt’s dysfunctional family in “Destroyed” (Detroit, naturally), where she has plenty of food but very little love is what makes this book memorable.
I highly recommend it, both for the gorgeous, lyrical narrative style of the author, and for its message.
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