Welcome to Litsy!

Young Darling goes from stealing guavas with her friends and dreaming about America to finally her dream coming true. However, the life in America isn‘t what she expected.

I found the first part of the book more interesting as I didn‘t know much about Zimbabwe. Nothing much happens in the second part besides adapting to a new life in a country where you might not be so welcomed. Although, I liked it that it was still from a child‘s perspective.

It‘s my first book set in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼. I was aware of some context of what has happened there but I‘m learning more while reading this book through the eyes of 10 year old Darling.

Sobering account of the immigrant experience https://cannonballread.com/2022/09/we-need-new-names-elcicco/

I never quite connected to this book and considered bailing and turns out I should have done just that. It contains the occasional arresting sentence and the second half was a bit more interesting then the first, but the author then chose to mock people with eating disorders and end the book with an act of violence against an animal that adds nothing to the story. I‘m disgusted.

#ReadingAfrica2022 #Zimbabwe
#bookspin

#BookReport 07/22

Three books. Tagged one is the best but neither really blew me away. All hope for next week!

It took me too long to read this book. It‘s a good one though. Coming of age partly in the tin shacks of #Zimbabwe and then living with an aunt in Michigan, life couldn‘t have changed more for Darling. Fleeing Mugabe‘s chaos she becomes an illegal immigrant who sharply observes all prejudices and misconceptions she faces daily.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇿🇼 #Booked2022 #AuthorBornInAfrica #52BooksIn52weeks #SetOnTwoContinents #Booker

This is just a story where nothing really happens. Where you can‘t root for the main character because there isn‘t really anything she is trying to achieve. I am familiar with the themes brought forth and many of the things the kids go through, however, the author didn‘t give it persona. It‘s bland narration so it didn‘t do much for me. Sad, funny, a few OMG moments but over all it was okay. In the end I was reading just to get it over with.

When picking books to fulfill wedding rhyme prompts, I only knew that I wanted to try and fill them in with all black authors. Now having read them, I noticed that they all deal with sharing knowledge and aspects of a particular culture. They‘re also split up down the middle by keeping aspects of culture and retellings in a new form.

I might not be able to plan this again with future challenges, but this tiny coincidence was nice. 😊

#aty2019

My 200th book this year! 🎊🍾 In between pick and so-so. Set in Zimbabwe and the US, a very southern African book in both good and bad ways. I really enjoy the African way of life and spirit. Have to say Profet Revelation Bitchington, GodKnows and Bastard are simply names you know will take you to Africa. It‘s a fast read, worth your while to understand life in Z and how America is seen through African eyes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I got today!

Zimbabwe #ownvoices - What do you do when your country is in the middle of a civil war, your father is dying of AIDS, and you and your friends steal guavas so you can eat? Should you leave to live with your aunt in America? Darling leaves and is eaten up with guilt, homesickness, and bitterness (the family and friends left behind need money). This was a realistic view of an emigrant from an African nation.

When you go to the library to pick up a hold and end up leaving with a few extras 🙈

#augustabc
How about looking at some #bluebooks I haven‘t read? 😅

Book haul from today's visit to the Friends of the Library used book store.

Heaven is a bookstore (with a sale!) 🤩 #BookHaul

I trekked up to Columbia University after work yesterday despite a respiratory infection I‘ve been fighting all week because I refused to miss out on the holiday sale at Book Culture! I spent an hour and a half thoroughly browsing their marked down books especially which had a few gems, pictured here. 📚📚📚📚📚

What a wonderful way to start the new school year! Thank you so much @HannaPolkadots for the books! One from my TBR and one I‘d never heard of before - I can‘t wait to read them! #teachercarepackageswap #tcps @hermyknee @AndreaReads

Lots of yellow at swim class

Someone decided my book photo needed a little more oomph

These are the hardbacks I acquired in the last few bookstore visits. I was glad to find used copies of all of them. The only one I‘ve read is The Hate You Give - loved it and picked up a copy b/c my daughter wants to read it. Some have been sitting a while until I could put Brodart covers on the dust jackets. Does anyone else put covers on the dust jackets?

Beautiful writing hindered by some odd choices like not using quotation marks. I also felt like because the main character was meant it be a stand in for all immigrants that she wasn't a fully fleshed out character.

This is the third I‘ve read of the books my secret santa @Cinfhen gave me, and again it‘s a pick. 😊 it has quite a los structure, but I think that this is a great reflection of Darling‘s struggle to make sense of what happens around her as a child. Once she gets to America, it again fits her problems in finding her way in her new life. Also, the writing style is wonderful, some sentences really hit you.

"It is a greedy monster too, the snow, because just look how it has swallowed everything; where is the ground now? Where are the flowers? The grass? The stones? The leaves? The ants? The litter? Where are they?" (p. 150)

https://youtu.be/lwmuNesz8qo
Here‘s my take on a new tag going around on BookTube – I figure this one easily translates to Litsy. Please post about your favorite books—or books you‘d like to read—from the “Shithole Countries” under the tag #shitholecountries

Thank you so much @erzascarletbookgasm ! Went out for a lovely lunch and came back to a lovely surprise package. You're so sweet! I've always wanted to give Modiano a try and heard so many good things about NoViolet Bulawayo. And the book of poetry looks so good. Plus chocolates and toffee... Mmm. That won't last long! Merry Christmas and have a lovely time with your family ❤️❤️😘

I wanted to like this more than I did. The story of a displaced girl‘s life in Zimbabwe and migration to the US. I liked the subject matter, but it was difficult for me to get into. It‘s a debut novel, and I would certainly be interested in reading her next book. 3.5⭐️

This woman can go all the way to hell for the way she ended this book. I can't even see the point she was trying to make. I just can't stand to read about animals being abused or injured. This book featured both. There was some beautiful writing throughout this book but I couldn't enjoy it.

Compelling book about home and identity. It also included the social aspects of colonialism and war. Some of the strongest parts of the book included the perpetual trauma people face and how they react based on proximity (seeing the destruction of their home versus seeing war and poverty across Africa on the news).

#LitsyAtoZ #W✔️

Great find at Dollar Tree! (Everything there is a dollar or less.) #lifeandlit

A few diverse books from my #TBR. I've felt weighed down by the news this week, and today's challenge reminded me of how much we need to listen to stories that are different from our own, and diverse voices more than ever. I so often stay in my reading comfort zones. I'm thankful for all the Littens who remind me to read more broadly, diversely, and intentionally. Ain't nothing wrong with comfort books, but we also need #diversity. #anditsaugust

Once the snow is gone it will be possible to go outside and see what this Detroit is all about, to see the grass, the flowers, the leaves, the birds, and the litter. Maybe I will finally see things that I know, and maybe this place will look ordinary at last. #starsandstripes #jubilantjuly

Four stars. Beautifully written tale of Darling's journey to America.

A few #yellow covers for today's #riotgrams.

May was a REALLY good reading month for me! I just need to make a little more progress on my challenges. I'll be specifically working on that this month. I especially need to finish the @EclecticReaders madlibs challenge, since I only have one to go!

I finished this one on audio today while I was on a walk at a nearby national park (where I took the photo). It would have been a five star read for me if it weren't for the ending! This is my book #aboutimmigration #LRC7 for the #LitsyReadingChallenge @jessica

This is a great book, but it can be really emotionally difficult to read.

These are a few of my favorite novels and memoirs set in Africa.
#lyricalapril #africa

NoVilolet Bulawayo reading in my city tonight

This was an uncomfortable book and uneven, but the best bits are a smack in the face. It was blurbed by Junot Diaz, and the feelings Bulawayo creates are similar to his writing.

Morning reading. Didn't read a lot this week, so I'm still making my way through this lovely novel. (And in love with my new mug.)

Finally getting around to my February wrap-up. I'm pretty happy with how many books I got to read last month, especially since I have so many I started but didn't finish and since it was a short month. ❤️

One more flight and then I'm home with the hubs! New book to keep me company: scored this at my hometown library's book sale for $1.

Absolutely stunning book. Darling's family had their home taken by the corrupt Zimbabwean government. Diminished to extreme poverty, living in a shack in a village called Paradise, she gets into daily mischief with her band of friends. She dreams of one day moving to the US, where the riches are boundless & everything is hip. When she moves to Michigan to live with her aunt & escape Zimbabwe's corruption, it's anything but what she expected.👇🏼

I learned a new thing. 💫

This is a tokoloshe. It's a type of water sprite gremlin-like creature in Zulu folklore. They look like angry Dobbys and cause mischief at night. What creepy fuckers. I love learning about folklore and mythos.

#themoreyouknow 🌠

😂😂😂 I feel you. They can go the hell away if this is the American hellscape they offer in your dreams. What a nightmare.

Tokoloshes = dwarf-like water sprites in Zulu mythology, I'll post a picture in another post

Bulawayo is painting a really stark and moving portrait about immigration in this book that feels all too timely.

Evening plans: chicken & mushroom spaghetti, wine, and continuing this excellent book. #heavypour @LeahBergen 😉

I'm also watching Twin Peaks for the first time. What kind of quirky hellscape did I step into?! 🌲

When I worked in rural Haiti, people used to tell me their dreams of escape. These people were surrounded by a supportive community, had stable work and a vibrant culture that took care of neighbors who ran into misfortune. I told them how many challenges they faced in the US which were beyond their imagination. The author paints this dichotomy so well. Life in Zimbabwe is hard, but they have so much more than they realize.

I've been having a really hard time digging out of depression lately, so I'm reading this while listening to the audio, and it's helping me actually get some reading in. :) Isn't the U.K. cover for this book stunning? I like the U.S. cover too, but this edition is just 👌🏼