Look at them leaving in droves, the children of the land just look at them leaving in droves. Those with nothing are crossing borders. Those with strength are crossing borders. Those with hopes are crossing borders. Those with loss are crossing borders. Those in pain are crossing borders. Moving, running, emigrating, going, deserting, walking, quitting, flying, fleeing — to all over, to countries near and far, to countries unheard of, to countries whose names they cannot pronounce. They are leaving in droves.

This is Bulawayo’s first novel, she draws from her personal experience and creates a raw and crude novel of the hardships of living in Zimbabwe and moving to America, all through the eyes of a girl that plays in Zimbabwe and grows up in America. Although I appreciated every literary technique, irony and reference, when I finished it seemed the story was superficial. Fortunately, I revisited the ending a few days after and I realized it’s brilliance — her ability to narrate every detail as a young girl would. Only near the end she changes from first person to third person, giving readers a hint of how a mature adult can interpret what happened and making it more profound. Still, it remains a first-hand telling of a migrant’s life.

The story starts in a place ironically called Paradise in Zimbabwe, where children can no longer go to school because every teacher has left town, and where people live in poor homes because their previous houses were bulldozed years ago. The gang is quickly introduced: Darling – the main character -, Chipo – pregnant at 11 -, Bastard, Godknows, Shbo, and Stina, going to Budapest, a town near Paradise, in search of guavas. A day in their life might seem uncommon, they spend their hours playing different games that relate to what they hear on the news, one of their favorites is called “finding Bin Laden.” On some days they go to church, on others they follow a funeral and death rituals, and on others the NGOs come take pictures of them and hand out food that is not enough. The grownups are their law and the children play around bending their rules and running scared of them.  Darling yearns for America, where her aunt Fostalina lives and where she will have a new life.

“We Need New Names” is a book for the migrant world that dreams of reaching America, sacrificing their families, their identities and nationalities, in order to find hope, or at least, a glimpse of hope. For Darling, America was her escape, and yet, not many years after living there, she understands that she will never truly belong anywhere anymore: America or Zimbabwe. Disheartened she comes to terms with the fact that she will never go back and that she will always be an undocumented migrant.

About NuViolet Bulawayo

The name NoViolet Bulawayo is a pseudonym which means “with Violet”, honoring her mother and Bulawayo, the city where she grew up. Her real name is Elizabeth Zandile Tshele, she was born in Zimbabwe, and migrated to the United States to live with an aunt when she was 18. There, she received an MFA from Cornell University. “We Need New Names” has won a series of awards including the Pen/Hemingway Award and the National Book Award’s “5 under 35” . In 2013, she made the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize, this made Bulawayo the first Zimbabwean and first black African woman to be nominated for this award.

Other books written by Zimbabwean women

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Zimbabwean initiatives and projects that support and empower girls and women

The Institute for Young Women Development

IYWD’s goal is to strengthen the voice of marginalized girls and women in Mashonaland central, Zimbabwe,  by bringing them together, organizing a movement and spark change. The women work towards the strengthening of three strategic pillars, which are: political engagement, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods, organizational development and stewardship, and self-care and wellbeing. Through activities such as documentaries, trainings, festivals, drama performances and peace talks, they are able to bridge the gender gap and fight towards equality.