We Need New Names - Couverture rigide

"Bulawayo's novel is not just a stunning piece of literary craftsmanship but also a novel that helps elucidate today's world" (Felicity Capon Daily Telegraph)

"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" (Daily Mail)

"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" (Michiko Kakutani New York Times)

"Often heartbreaking, but also pulsing with colour and energy" (Kate Saunders The Times (Saturday Review))

"Extraordinary" (Gaby Wood Daily Telegraph)

"Creates a fictional world that is immediate, fresh, and identifies the arrival of a talented writer" (Francesca Angelini Sunday Times (Culture))

"NoViolet Bulawayo uses words potently, blending brutality and lyricism in her unflinching, bittersweet story of displacement" (Anita Sethi Observer)

"A really talented and ambitious author" (Helon Habila Guardian)

"A debut that blends wit and pain... heartrending... wonderfully original" (Margaret Busby Independent)

"We Need New Names is full of life -- you can almost feel the sun on your arms and hear the birds in the trees -- and Bulawayo is certainly one to watch" (Stylist)

*** Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013 ***

** US National Book Award 5 Under 35 **

'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.