Political satire is an important genre in Zimbabwe where writers can’t often express themselves without impunity. Glory, published by Chatto (2022) is the second novel by award-winning novelist, Noviolet Bulawayo. The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize (2022) and is inspired by George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” In Glory, the story rides on the senile Old Horse who has ruled the Kingdom of Jidada with an iron fist for 40 years. We are introduced to the first lady, Marvellous, a donkey, and an eclectic cast as they butt heads in succession battles. Most Zimbabweans will be familiar with the caricatures. Noviolet uses satire to cast a critical lens on post-Mugabe Zimbabwe following the coup that was not a coup.

Title: Glory

Author: Noviolet Bulawayo

Hardcover Publisher in the U.S.: Viking

Hardcover ISBN: 978-0525561132

Softcover Publisher: Penguin Books

Softcover ISBN: 978-0525561156

Recognition: shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022

Elizabeth Zandile Tshele was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1981. She writes under the pseudonym of Noviolet Bulawayo. Elizabeth earned her MFA at Cornell University. She is the author of the award-winning, coming-of-age debut novel, We Need New Names (2013). The novel grew from her short story titled: “Hitting Budapest” (2011) which won The Caine Prize for African Writing.

Title: We Need New Names

Author: Noviolet Bulawayo

Hardcover Publisher in the U.S.: Reagan Arthur Books

Hardcover ISBN: 978-0316230810

Softcover Publisher: Back Bay Books, reprint edition.

Softcover ISBN: 978-0316230841

Recognition:

Winner of the 2014 PEN / Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction

Winner of the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction

Winner of the 2014 Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Legacy Award for fiction

Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize

Winner of the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature

Finalist for the 2013 Guardian First Book Award

One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year for 2013

One of National Public Radio’s Great Reads of 2013

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#ZimbabweLitMonth is curated by novelist Sue Nyathi. She is a published Zimbabwean author of four fiction titles: The Polygamist (2012), The Gold Diggers (2018), A Family Affair (2020), and An Angel’s Demise (2022). She also edited a nonfiction anthology titled When Secrets Become Stories, Women Speak Out (2021). You can visit her website here and follow her on Twitter at @SueNyathi.