Glory cover art

Glory

Longlisted For The Women's Prize For Fiction

Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

Glory

By: NoViolet Bulawayo
Narrated by: Chipo Chung
Get this deal

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 28 December, 2026. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.29

Buy Now for $24.29

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
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

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
Every Zimbabwean or anyone who knows the history of the country must read or listen to this wonderful book.

There is Hope and there will be Glory

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

It's a tale of two countries, two realities. One story is about the comedic nature of a fictional animal dictatorship government, the other is sad and sorrowful individual stories of real Zimbabweans.

This fearless account summarizes Zimbabwe's past, present and future.

Also, the narrator really captured the accents and how people in Zimbabwe speak

it's a tale of two realities

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The author deserves The Booker Prize and the narrator deserves an Oscar. What an amazing experience listening to an amazing story. Clever in conception and stunning execution, this was an outstanding listen, best ever in my experience.

Extraordinary

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The plight of the Ndebele people in colonial and post colonial history is a scar which must be picked. NoViolet bravely tackles this challenge. Brave because it’s clear to anyone who lives in Zimbabwe who the characters are and her narration of the character Similo is a realistic take on the fate that can greet the promulgator of these stories.

Chipo tackled this reading with authenticity. Well done ladies.

An harrowing tale with an uplifting end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

listen to this book just for the narrator, she is amazing. Can she please narrate all my books?

Best audible performance ever

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.