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Glory

Longlisted For The Women's Prize For Fiction

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Glory

By: NoViolet Bulawayo
Narrated by: Chipo Chung
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

**Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022**

Glory is an energy burst, an exhilarating ride. A bold, vivid chorus of animal voices calls out the dangerous absurdity of contemporary global politics, and helps us see our human world more clearly.

A long time ago, in a bountiful land not so far away, the animal denizens lived quite happily. Then the colonisers arrived. After nearly a hundred years, a bloody War of Liberation brought new hope for the animals - along with a new leader. A charismatic horse who commanded the sun and ruled and ruled and kept on ruling. For forty years he ruled, with the help of his elite band of Chosen Ones, a scandalously violent pack of Defenders and, as he aged, his beloved and ambitious young donkey wife, Marvellous.

But even the sticks and stones know there is no night ever so long it does not end with dawn. And so it did for the Old Horse, one day as he sat down to his Earl Grey tea and favourite radio programme. A new regime, a new leader. Or apparently so. And once again, the animals were full of hope . . .

Glory tells the story of a country seemingly trapped in a cycle as old as time. And yet, as it unveils the myriad tricks required to uphold the illusion of absolute power, it reminds us that the glory of tyranny only lasts as long as its victims are willing to let it. History can be stopped in a moment. With the return of a long-lost daughter, a #freefairncredibleelection, a turning tide - even a single bullet.

© NoViolet Bulawayo 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Animals Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Magical Realism Political World Literature Fantasy Magic Heartfelt Tear-jerking
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Critic reviews

Allegory, satire and fairytale rolled into one mighty punch
Brave, and moving (Stuart Kelly)
Vital and universal (Hepzibah Anderson)
Few writers can engineer a sentence like NoViolet Bulawayo
Bulawayo is really out-Orwelling Orwell. This is a satire with sharper teeth, angrier, and also very, very funny
Glory revels in the absurd but offers a terrifying vision of political disintegration for readers today
An urgent and engaging meditation on the farce of totalitarianism and the struggle of those who live under it to forge something better
Glory is a witty and moving tribute to the people of Zimbabwe and their history
Bulawayo broaches what it means to fight for democracy and call somewhere home in a timely and imaginative way . . . A memorable, funny and yet serious allegory about a country's plight under tyranny and what individual and collective freedom means in an age of virtual worlds and political soundbites (Franklin Nelson)
It delivers, over the course of 400 pages of wordplay and animal magic, a surprisingly warm, intimate and, yes, human feeling (Melissa Katsoulis)
All stars
Most relevant
Chipo Chung's reading of this book is a masterpiece. She brings the characters to life and gives each one its own voice. Her range of expressiveness is extraordinary. She brings colour and life to the narrative and gives meaning to the wonderful use of repetition in the text.

NoViolet Bulawayo's story is wonderful. The characters are fascinating and engaging. The story is absolutely gripping. So skillful. I love the use of repetition in the narrative. I love the different points of view from which the story is told, especially when it's told by "we" (which i found so effective in "We Need New Names).

I love the metaphors, like the appearance of a crocodile in Jidada. I find so much in the writing which is original and brilliant. It's flawless. There is darkness and there is a lot of humour. It goes deep. I am sorry to have finished the book and I will never forget it.

amazing book and amazing reading

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This book brings into focus the problems caused by colonialism in Africa and the danger of corruption, power and dictators.
It is often funny and moving. The prose is often used like poetry to create deeper meanings. The narrator brings this text to life with fantastic voices and pregnant pauses.
I found it really thought provoking and I thought the use of animals as characters gave it the feel of a traditional tale.
Highly recommended!

A powerful story expertly narrated

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I was hesitant in choosing this novel because of its Animal Farm-like style, assuming (very wrongly) that I would be bored by the format. Instead, I discovered a captivating, thought-provoking and immensely powerful story that utilised the animal analogy in a completely novel and impressive way, it's bold and energetic and very real.

The Narrator was fantastic, as someone with some family history in Zimbabwe it was a heartwarming surprise to hear the perfect grasp of the colloquial terms, accents and performance. I did google her and see she is Zimbabwean, so this makes sense of course, but she gave a wonderful edge to a story that would have been a lot more dim if only read by my own internal narration !

With its beautiful encapsulation of Zimbabwean people, culture, and resilience, Bulawayo's writing really breathes life into this tale.
I can't remember the exact quote (because I listened to the audio) but the story mentions comedians whose satire about the country is tremendously funny but at the same time deeply upsetting because of how true they ring. I found this similar to my thoughts on the book, the quirky, heartwarming writing and humour of the political absurdity only slightly veiling the gross tragedy being told.
All in all I really enjoyed this, give it a go !

Perfect

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The narration was fantastic. As for the story, I found the first half tough going. There are numerous, quotable, killer one liners that highlight the ridiculousness of governmental mismanagement but it just took a really long time for the story to go anywhere. Making the characters animals added to the ridiculousness and worked, on the whole, but don't expect an animal farm esq allegory. This is straight characters are named as dogs/birds/horses but are to all intents human. Ironically, the second half, which was far more poignant and horrific, was an easier listen as it seemed to be building to a purpose. And there are some sections which simply didn't work on an audio book (5 mins of repeating the same sentance...). Not bad by any means but probably not a book i will return to.

Funny but overlong

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Fantastic . funny , touching, hard hitting and clever. it may be a story of Africa, but it is so much more. A story of so many people around our world . The narration was superb.

The best narration I have heard.

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