The twist is that its characters are all animals - a nod to George Orwell’s Animal Farm that generates early intrigue, but soon comes to seem like a gimmick lending unity to a series of shapeless vignettes.
Her more ambitious new novel is a sprawling social panorama set in the fictional African state of Jidada, witnessed through the fall of one dictator and the rise of another. Zimbabwean writer Bulawayo made the Booker shortlist in 2013 with her debut We Need New Names, a coming-of-age story about a girl migrating to the United States. GLORY by NoViolet Bulawayo (Chatto £18.99, 416 pp)īy NoViolet Bulawayo (Chatto £18.99, 416 pp) The story unfolds in the chatty, pun-filled style that Smith has made her own, but it’s notably sleeker than her recent output, and better for it.Īs ever, the book’s pleasure lies in Smith’s gift for giddying associative leaps, and the ease with which she deploys her lightly worn erudition in order to hymn the virtues of openhearted creativity.
It’s told by a painter, Sandy, whose father is in hospital when she is called out of the blue by an old classmate, Martina, a museum worker complaining about her heavy-handed treatment by customs officials.Īnother thread set in medieval times follows a destitute girl who finds herself persecuted after joining a travelling band of players. Smith’s new book follows her recent seasonal quartet of novels penned in rapid response to contemporary events, from the Brexit vote (the backdrop to 2017’s Autumn) to the first lockdown (the setting for Summer, published two years ago).
COMPANION PIECE by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton £16.99, 240 pp)īy Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton £16.99, 240 pp)
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