B.O.A.S Rating – 4/5 stars

The first half of We Need New Names is set in Zimbabwe. We meet Darling and her group of friends, who despite the harrowing state of the country manage to do what children do world-over. Be children. From high chase in the uptown Budapest in search of guavas to made-up games and adventures, we follow along their playfulness in the face of constant danger.

It’s in this clever space that NoViolet raises the complicated and heartbreaking issues that plague Zimbabwe. From the biting poverty of the people, to the administration turning against its own people and the ensuing exodus by a ‘lucky’ few. How lucky are they? This is tackled in the second part of the book when Darling finally joins her Aunt in America.

America turns out to be a different place for immigrants. Different from the pictures that all foreigners sent back home – the reality of the many Africans is an undocumented life of hard jobs and hard work. But still…even then, America remains that symbol of opportunity and freedom which prompts so many to make the sacrifices they do to get there.

My favorite parts of the book are probably where NoViolet steps back and tells the story of the collective immigrants experience; ‘sitting on one buttock because they must not sit comfortable lest they be asked to rise and leave’, ‘speaking in dampened whispers because they must not let their voices drown those of the owners of the land.’ Those parts of the book made the story so much more than Darling’s adventure.

This book was well written. Flowing with such rich language and texture. And a fulfilling story for both the people who left their home countries to start lives elsewhere, and those who stayed behind.

Why ‘We Need New Names’ as a book title? I’ll let you discover that on your own 😉