195. Zimbabwe

 Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo

This is part-fairy tale, part-factual account of the state of the revolution and the later regime change in Zimbabwe. Hailing from that part of the world, I found this novel sad and upsetting at times and fuelling anger at other times. This is political satire that delves into magical realism at times about the fictional African country of Jidada "with a -da and another -da" and begins just before the old horse known as the "Father of the nation" is ousted in a coup by his deputy who becomes known as the "Saviour of the nation." It bslao follows the story of Destiny, whose journey of discovery has the capacity to set in motion real change.

In a way this is a sequel to Animal Farm by George Orwell, or at least a companion piece. Where Animal Farm shows how the revolutionaries become the oppressors, this continues that thread to the point where the oppressive revolutionaries are overthrown in a coup... and these saviours are just as bad as the ones that came before. a vicious circle, it seems.

Glory is NoViolet Bulawayo's second novel. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, and longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.