Optimism Is Unravelling | A Review Of We Need New Names By NoViolet Bulawayo

We Need New Names, a presumably semi-autobiographical novel captures the world of childhood of Darling and her friend Bastard, Chipo, Godknows, Shbo and Stina growing up in the ironically named Paradise, a township in Zimbabwe. We enter into their games of playing Find Bin Laden, chanting Who Discovered the Way to India? Vasco da Gama and climbing trees to hide after stealing far too many guavas from an affluent neighbourhood.

Through Darling’s eyes, we see her first encounter with a white woman, protesters, and freedom fighters. We also meet memorable characters such as Mother of Bones, Aunt Fostalina, Bornfree and a preacher of a dubious nature, called Prophet Revelations Bitchington Mborro.

Later in the novel Darling’s childhood dream of living in America comes true as she joins her Aunt Fostalina in Detroit. Will the dream of studying at an Ivy League university, living in luxury and buying a Revelation Lamborghini be her destiny? Will her new friends Kristal and Marina replace Chipo and Godknows and finally will Darling return to her roots, ancestral spirits and friends in Paradise?

The novel conjures up the stereotypical views of everything being TV Kardashian glamorous where everything is cheap and almost freely available in the States. In addition to this, many readers from all around the world will identify with the need to leave their home country to find a better life, whether to escape from violence, war or economic heartache. Despite some bleak and disturbing moments of Darling’s childhood in this book, the writer Bulawayo lets us see things through her eyes and feel her yearning for the past.

The themes of growing up pangs, self-discovery and identity give readers an insight into the realm of a young girl in her early womanhood. Throughout the novel, readers are reminded that looming in the background, optimism is unravelling, and things are gradually falling apart both politically and culturally in modern Zimbabwe.

The writing style in this novel is clear and understandable. While observations are made of the characters and setting around her, the heroine does not comment on such important issues as: religion, controversial cultural practices or political situations in Zimbabwe. Darling is merely an observer. However, the reader is left to think about and question the causes and consequences of what is actually taking place at this time in Zimbabwe and in other parts of the recent republics established in the post-colonial African continent. These political issues are explored in depth by Bulawayo in her satirical novel Glory (published by Penguin Random House, 2022) which has been compared to the famous George Orwell novel Animal Farm.

The author NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of emerging Zimbabwean writer Elizabeth Zandie Tshele who was born in 1981. She was named a “5 under 35” honoree by New African magazine in 2014 and her first published book We Need New Names was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Her second book Glory was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and has attained a lot of critical attention. She continues the tradition of post-colonial African writers such as Chinua Achebe and more recently Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie of weaving a tale and leading the reader into the world of childhood in the dance of life.

To conclude, We Need New Names is an enjoyable read with identifiable characters throughout. Having lived in Zimbabwe from 1986-1989 (the ‘good old days’) it was a time when everyone regardless of race, colour or ethnicity had the unknowingly, temporary euphoric feeling that they were all comrades “together in Africa.” The novel rekindled many happy memories of children I taught in Rukweza with their unusual names such as Government Car and Funny Paraffin to mention a couple. Maybe we (do) Need New Names as Bulawayo suggests but let’s not get rid of the humorous, often apt ones especially as they link us to the past and are part of our future.

About The Writer:

Catherine Franklin grew up in a small town in Ireland. As a child, she loved to curl up with a book on the cushions of a large bay window in her local library. Dreaming of travelling she later went to Zimbabwe. Here she met her husband and together their international teaching careers led them to Turkey, Chile, Brazil. Her son is a musician in Rio de Janeiro. She now lives in Abuja, Nigeria with her husband and continues to curl up with a book when time permits.

Title: We Need New Names – NoViolet Bulawayo 
Publisher: Vintage (part of Penguin Random House) 2013 
Pages: 294 
ISBN 978-178-4-87750-7