What follows is a lengthy piece, but one which is well worth your time. It is a review of Caine Prize for African Writing winner, Zimbabwean author, NoViolet Bulawayo's new book, We Need New Names. The review's author, Ikhide R. Ikheloa, provides excerpts from the book, as well links to relevant blogs, essays and other material which enhance our idea of just what this new book is all about. In what he calls "some of the best poetry prose [he has] read in his life", he finds one of the most "contemporary pieces of literature that [he has] read in a long time" -- a book which fits into our texting, tweeting, Facebook culture. Bulawayo does not hold back in depicting the daily challenges of children growing up in poverty in contemporary Africa. As Ikheloa points out, "The words seep into your bones and slap you awake." The book does not dissolve into what some books about Africa do, namely "poverty porn," but rather presents a startling and complex portrait of modern life in Africa. Here's a review of NoViolet Bulawayo's new book:
http://xokigbo.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/for-noviolet-bulawayo-we-need-new-names/
