read: 26.02.19 - 05.03.19

Summary

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 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.

Review

This book felt like reading a breath of fresh air. NoViolet Bulawayo is one hell of a writer! I enjoyed every page of this book, and found it fascinating how the book allowed you such insight into the character of Darling.

Darling, our protagonist, was infinitely loveable and interesting to read. Her flaws and her discovery about what the world is truly like was so interesting to read about. The novel moves so expertly between sadness and comedy, and reading about life in this area from the perspective of a child made this novel even more interesting. Children's narratives have grown on me a lot recently, and I think they provide access to something that can't be tapped into with adult narration - innocence and naivety.

We feel all the more sympathy and connect more with Darling because she is having to learn so much about the world in a very short amount of time.

The writing style was so beautiful, and it possessed a type of simplicity which really made the writing stand out. There were so many sentences which were simple, but they were so impactful that I would have to read them again to truly take in their meaning.

Here is one line that really stood out to me: 'Because we were not in our country, we could not use our own languages, and so when we spoke our voices came out bruised.'

I think it's so important to read more diversely, and read books about cultures different from our own. This book has made me really interested in looking into the other works by NoViolet Bulawayo. It has really hammered home to me the importance of culture, of understanding people, and of listening to everyone's stories.

rating: 10/10