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We Need New Names

A Novel

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We Need New Names

Written by: NoViolet Bulawayo
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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About this listen

 This unflinching and powerful novel tells the "deeply felt and fiercely written" story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe to America (New York Times Book Review).

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. NoViolet Bulawayo's debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her — from Junot Diaz to Zadie Smith to J.M. Coetzee — while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.

"Original, witty, and devastating." —People Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Africa

What the critics say

Winner of the 2014 PEN / Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction


Winner of the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction


Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize

Winner of the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature

Finalist for the 2013 Guardian First Book Award

One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year for 2013

One of National Public Radio's Great Reads of 2013
"A deeply felt and fiercely written debut novel ... The voice Ms. Bulawayo has fashioned for [Darling] is utterly distinctive - by turns unsparing and lyrical, unsentimental and poetic, spiky and meditative." --- Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Bulawayo describes all this in brilliant language, alive and confident, often funny, strong in its ability to make Darling's African life immediate ... She demonstrates a striking ability to capture the uneasiness that accompanies a newcomers arrival in America." -- Uzodinma Iweala, The New York Times Book Review


"Bulawayo mixes imagination and reality, combining an intuitive attention to detail with startling, visceral imagery ... This book is a provocative, haunting debut from an author to watch." - Elle
"Bulawayo, whose prose is warm and clear and unfussy, maintains Darling's singular voice throughout, even as her heroine struggles to find her footing. Her hard, funny first novel is a triumph." -- Entertainment Weekly
"Nearly as incisive about the American immigrant experience as it is about the failings of Mugabe's regime [in Zimbabwe]." -- National Public Radio
"Bulawayo's first novel is original, witty and devastating." ---People Magazine

"Ms. Bulawayo's artistry is such that we can't help but see ourselves in that wider world ... Darling is a dazzling life force with a rich, inventive language all her own, funny and perceptive but still very much a child ... It would be hard to overstate the freshness of Ms. Bulawayo's language, with words put together in utterly surprising ways that communicate precisely." ---Judy Wertheimer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Writing with poignant clarity and hard-hitting imagery, Bulawayo delivers this first work as an offering of hope." --The New York Daily News
"How does a writer tell the story of a traumatised nation without being unremittingly bleak? NoViolet Bulawayo manages it by forming a cast of characters so delightful and joyous that the reader is seduced by their antics at the same time as finding out about the country's troubles." -- Leyla Sanai, The Independent
"Bulawayo has written a powerful novel. Her gift as a visual storyteller should propel her to a bright future -- a dream fulfilled, no matter the country"-- Korina Lopez, USA Today
All stars
Most Relevant
Loved the book - an excellent portrayal of our lives growing up, and lives in foreign lands. Most of the vivid descriptions match my memories and recollections. Very eye opening indeed.

Excellent depiction

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Horrendous title and story, the use of descriptive language especially pertaining to childbirth, and washroom visitation to defecate coupled with descriptive detail of how a specific kind of scream can mean specific things. The author dedicated approximately an entire chapter about the topic of childbirth and defecation, highlighting; one scream means; "a Guava has cut your anus", while another scream means someone is calling your name to see something. Let me tell you this if you want to waste 9 hours listening to a book detail the fake "African" international student life this is for you, it is laced with an unrealistic premise, filled with extensive exaggerations, and disgusting description for shock value. This is the perfect piece of garbage to buy and realize you were swindled. As an African, born in former Rhodesia and raised in South Africa and Mozambique and of African descent, I can assure you this story has nothing to do with the reality on the ground, this book is a blatant attack on African society, this can not be considered a piece of literature as it enforces and unfortunately strengthens the idea of African underdevelopment, it is a fabrication laced with lies, I certainly recommend other authors, such as Jamaica Kincaid, whos works have highlighted the plight of all Africans, in the Carribean and across the world.

Over exaggeration and washroom references!

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