Trudie's Reviews > Glory

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
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really liked it
bookshelves: booker-22, readingchallenge2022

Ah, this is so hard for me to review because truth be told it was 60% an arduous slog and 40% deep admiration for the attempt at something so difficult.

I enjoy fiction when it teaches me about history and Glory isn't a bad way to learn more about the Mugabe regime. It is a very thinly veiled political history of Zimbabwe with plenty of lessons for those interested in avoiding authoritarian rulers in their own countries. It's also a very good portrayal of what subversion of democracy looks like. It's almost comical until it very much isn't and that journey is worth the sometimes frustration at what the Guardian calls the author's stylistic dexterity
In practical terms, this means your going to be reading certain phrases over and over again, while also dealing with random insertions of repeated words, that can last as long as a page. It's kind of like a conceptual art piece and well I didn't love it, and I didn't need it.

The other aspect, that I could have done without was the animals. I decided early on I would ignore all the hooves and tails and why does a cow iron questions and just sub in people. I think the comparisons to Animal Farm didn't really help me with this novel. I would much rather hold it up next to other novels by African authors dealing with the legacy of colonialism in their countries and on that score, this is a very valuable addition to the conversation.

Side note: reading this did lead me down an internet rabbit hole about Grace Mugabe and her love of shopping.
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Reading Progress

August 20, 2022 – Started Reading
August 20, 2022 – Shelved
August 20, 2022 –
page 1
0.25%
August 22, 2022 –
page 100
24.63% "Every Booker book has surprised me so far and mostly in good ways - I think I really like this !"
August 24, 2022 –
page 245
60.34% "This certainly has some excellent moments but the repetition is driving me a little crazy"
August 25, 2022 –
page 317
78.08%
August 26, 2022 – Finished Reading

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