We Need New Names cover art

We Need New Names

From the twice Booker-shortlisted author of GLORY

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About this listen

‘To play the country-game, we have to choose a country. Everybody wants to be the USA and Britain and Canada and Australia and Switzerland and them. Nobody wants to be rags of countries like Congo, like Somalia, like Iraq, like Sudan, like Haiti and not even this one we live in – who wants to be a terrible place of hunger and things falling apart?’

Darling and her friends live in a shanty called Paradise, which of course is no such thing. It isn’t all bad, though. There’s mischief and adventure, games of Find bin Laden, stealing guavas, singing Lady Gaga at the tops of their voices.

They dream of the paradises of America, Dubai, Europe, where Madonna and Barack Obama and David Beckham live. For Darling, that dream will come true. But, like the thousands of people all over the world trying to forge new lives far from home, Darling finds this new paradise brings its own set of challenges – for her and also for those she’s left behind.

 Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Africa

Critic reviews

We Need New Names is a "before" and "after" kind of novel, the kind that marks a new beginning, a new shift in the African literary tradition . . . To me, it is a complete novel in terms of aesthetics and politics (Mukoma Wa Ngugi)
Bulawayo’s novel is not just a stunning piece of literary craftsmanship but also a novel that helps elucidate today’s world
The challenging rhythm and infectious language of NoViolet Bulawayo's emotionally articulate novel turns a familar tale of immigrant displacement into a heroic ballad. Bulawayo's courage and her literary scope shine out from this outstanding debut
Darling is 10 when we first meet her, and the voice Ms. Bulawayo has fashioned for her is utterly distinctive — by turns unsparing and lyrical, unsentimental and poetic, spiky and meditative... stunning novel... remarkably talented author
Often heartbreaking, but also pulsing with colour and energy
Extraordinary
Creates a fictional world that is immediate, fresh, and identifies the arrival of a talented writer
NoViolet Bulawayo uses words potently, blending brutality and lyricism in her unflinching, bittersweet story of displacement
A really talented and ambitious author
A debut that blends wit and pain... heartrending... wonderfully original
All stars
Most relevant
I really liked this story but what happened to the reader?
She is amazingly skilled with Nigerian and American accents but somewhere in the middle the voice and accent changes for no apparent reason, then returns, then again.
I should have asked for a refund and bought the novel on paper.
It was like a spliced film. What happened and why?

Terrific First Person Voice

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This is by far the best performance of an audiobook I have ever seen. the story is slightly long but bearable. definitely recommend.

absolutely amazing performance and good story

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Took me a bit of time to get used to the narration and the story but if you stick with it, it’s overall an enjoyable listen

Good

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Good story but slow at times. I wish she’d gone a bit further in telling the stories of the characters and sharing more of their experiences. Overall it was engaging ...the narrator was good, though some of the Ndebele pronunciations were off lol. Would love to read a follow up /continuation of Darlings story...

Good but slow at times

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An enjoyable listen...giving an insight into the lives of migrant communities and what it Jean's to leave your home country and never be able to return.

Interesting

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