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The Carnival of Ash
The Carnival of Ash
Sep 10, 2025 5:04 PM

Author:Tom Beckerlegge,Nathaniel Priestley

The Carnival of Ash

Brought to you by Penguin.

Cadenza is the City of Words, a city run by poets, its skyline dominated by the steepled towers of its libraries, its heart beating to the stamp and thrum of the printing presses in the Printing Quarter. Carlo Mazzoni, a young wordsmith arrives at the city gates intent on making his name as the bells ring out with the news of the death of the city's poet-leader. Instead, he finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of a city in turmoil, the looming prospect of war with their rival Venice ever-present. A war that threatens not only to destroy Cadenza but remove it from history altogether...

© Tom Beckerlegge(P) Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing 2022

Reviews

An astonishingly original and moving book

—— David Walliams

Harrowing, beautiful and sometimes very funny

—— Roddy Doyle

Emotional...impossible to read without a lump in the throat

—— Observer

Intimate, desolate and sometimes very funny

—— The Telegraph

Touching and, at times, surprisingly amusing

—— Independent

Glory revels in the absurd but offers a terrifying vision of political disintegration for readers today

—— Financial Times *Summer Reads of 2022*

An urgent and engaging meditation on the farce of totalitarianism and the struggle of those who live under it to forge something better

—— i

Glory is a witty and moving tribute to the people of Zimbabwe and their history

—— Literary Review

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 , Financial Times

It delivers, over the course of 400 pages of wordplay and animal magic, a surprisingly warm, intimate and, yes, human feeling

—— Melissa Katsoulis , The Times

You thought you were getting a novel as good as We Need New Names . . . Glory is even more dazzling . . . Calls to mind other great storytellers such as Herta Müller, Elif Shafak and Zimbabwean compatriot Yvonne Vera

—— Sarah Ladipo Manyika , Guardian

Bulawayo's tale of dictatorship and oppression explores the exaltation and downfall of a would-be savior

—— The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022, Oprah Daily

Robert Mugabe is there in all but name in this striking allegory - an Animal Farm that shows how narratives of liberation and self-determination curdle under a dictator's power

—— Fiction to Look Out For in 2022, Guardian

Based loosely on the events following former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's 2017 fall from power, the various dazzling voices of this novel will draw you deep into its ambitious and mystifying heart

—— Most Anticipated Books 2022, Vulture

Bulawayo keenly displays the perspectives of political players and the civilians who bear the brunt of their violence. With satire that feels necessary and urgent, Bulawayo brings clarity to a murky political morass

—— Publisher's Weekly

From the author of We Need New Names, and inspired by the fall of Robert Mugabe, a parable of oppression and revolution told through the animal kingdom

—— 2022 in Books, Guardian

Genius

—— Jason Reynolds

Bulawayo says that, while writing non-fiction about the coup, she found herself constantly returning to George Orwell's Animal Farm . . . In Zimbabwe, where people are ascribed a totem from birth, usually an animal, the device works perfectly

—— Lindsey Hilsum , Times Literary Supplement

The world play dazzles

—— The Times

Glory is a witty and moving tribute to the people of Zimbabwe and their history

—— Literary Review

She writes in exuberant, looping sentences and wittily experiments with form, incorporating elements of social media... an urgent and engaging meditation on the farce of totalitarianism and the struggle of those who live under it to forge something better

—— Max Liu , i news

A story which, bravely, speaks truth to power

—— Methodist Recorder

NoViolet Bulawayo speaks truth to power with verve, employing her own lexicon and memorably vivid, often hilarious imagery

—— Sunday Times, *Books of the Year*

This Booker-nominated tale is the uplifting and original book you're looking for.

—— Stylist, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022*

I find NoViolet Bulawayo's writing profoundly salient and her novel Glory is a masterpiece for our times. Gripping and exhilarating

—— Observer, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022*

A powerful satire of political corruption... With its vivid storytelling and biting caricatures...Glory is a scathing and uproarious rebuke to tyranny

—— Daily Mail

A marvellously original, clever satire about political corruption... Bulawayo...writes with a passion which is very moving... Chipo Chung gives one of the best audiobook readings I have ever heard

—— Tablet

A warm-hearted exploration of the foibles and dynamics of family life

—— The Times, *Books of the Year*

Tyler is a superb observer of family life... Heartbreak is deftly layered over a vibrant portrayal of the city, its codes and nuances

—— Lady, *Books of the Year*

Anne Tyler is a wonderful storyteller and French Braid is another classic... Funny but hearthbreaking, too. I loved every single page

—— Good Housekeeping, *Books of the Year*

Anne Tyler's genius lies in her ability to make this unremarkable family so enthralling

—— Sunday Express

Tyler is a genius at telling big stories with small details and this is an engrossing, fascinating family portrait

—— UK Press Syndication

Gentle and comforting, but with a hidden core of desperate, cloying sadness, and is vintage Tyler

—— Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

An astute, well-observed and compulsively readable saga

—— Daily Mirror

I adore her [Tyler] books. She’s written 24 novels and I’ve read every single one. She’s 81 and yet French Braid, her latest, is one of her very best

—— Jacqueline Wilson , Sunday Times

Kimberly Farr reads with a gentle-paced wryness, thoughtful and exact

—— Tablet
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