A New Name You Should Know

NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names is a powerful debut novel.  The book’s main character, like its author, is a young woman from Zimbabwe who moves to the United States.

As the book opens, ten-year-old Darling lives in a tin hut with her grandmother, but she remembers the days when her family was all together, when she attended school, when she lived with her family in a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood  Her father went to South Africa looking for work, and she hasn’t seen him in years; her mother is gone from the home most days to work at the country’s border.  Darling travels the streets with a small gang of friends, stealing guavas from the trees in a walled neighborhood nearby.  She travels with her grandmother to hear a charismatic preacher.  She helps her pregnant young playmate, who fears that she will die when giving birth to her child.

In the second half of the novel, teen-aged Darling lives in Michigan with her aunt, her uncle, and their son.  She faces the unimaginable cold of a Midwestern winter.  She meets new friends.  She takes a miserable job, fearful that she will never be able to achieve the dreams that led her to the United States.  She struggles to find her place in a new world without losing touch with her past and her family.

We Need New Names is a window into the life of a twenty-first century immigrant.  The first half of the novel is unforgettable, and the second half is heartbreaking.  And both parts are filled with an incredible cast of supporting characters.  This is a book that I’ve already recommended to friends, and it’s a book that would be really interesting to teach.