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snowhitereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took me a while but I finally finished Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.
Let me tell you… It was a ride.
It is one of the rare books that lives up to the hype.
I can definitely see why it earned the booker prize for 2019.
This book is made of layers upon layers and stories woven into other stories that in the end create a full picture.
The characters really do seem real and are incredibly well developed.
It spans numerous generations and socioeconomic backgrounds and it is truly diverse, not just in terms of ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation but also in terms of points of view.
It brings to the table problematic and controversial topics and opinions but it doesn’t shy away from demonstrating how discriminatory and extremist they can be . It discusses privilege and the many forms it can take and the hardships of immigrants.
One thing I really appreciated, although very hard to read about, was the portrayal of an abusive wlw relationship . It is an issue rarely talked about, but it’s a reality for many people so it’s important to bring awareness to that.
On a completely different note, I did not expect so much wlw content in this book. I don't even remember anyone mentioning it, it was a pleasant surprise for me, but I probably would have read it much sooner if i knew haha.
Cw: domestic violence, rape, racism, suicide, drug use, deadnaming, miscarriage, infedelity, toxic relationship, homophobia, transphobia, racial slurs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, and Transphobia
sheryl_macca's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Initially I found this book to be really frustrating. I was enjoying what Girl, Woman, Other had to say but not how it was being said. It didn't feel like a book of short stories to me, it was a novel of intertwined lives told from multiple POVs. I generally love multiple POVs but I was disappointed as I had been expecting something different. The free form structure was also forcing me to read quickly like it was a race. It was distracting me from the content which I did actually like most of the time.
Unfortunately, I disliked some of the first characters I was introduced to, especially Yazz. I almost DNF'd after the first chapter from Yazz. Before I did, I looked up reviews from other readers and I found a lot of people were equally as undecided as me during the first third of the book. These readers were mostly all glad that they had persevered and finished it and so I decided to continue on. It was really interesting to find that so many people had mixed feelings about such a critically acclaimed book!
It was a conscious effort for me to slow down against the flow of words and to absorb the voices properly as I read. The effort didn't particularly lighten as I went on either. The writing style did, however, make the narration more conversational and dynamic. I felt I was a part of the conversation, like I was in the room with these characters and I really did enjoy that. I'm not convinced that the benefits of the free form style outweighed the negatives having now finished the book.
I found that some of the characters were also unreliable narrators, Dominique particularly. I usually avoid unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators and I don't remember ever having read a book containing both before. I was a little wary of some voices and therefore not fully immersed every time they popped up.
Like those reviewers who persuaded me to continue reading, I was eventually glad that I persevered. I found stories that I enjoyed, loveable characters and convincing voices used confidently. My favourite was Bummi but I also loved Hattie and Shirley. These were strong, proud, resilient women. They were aware of the mistakes they had made in life and were courageous enough to admit them. They had interesting and emotional intersectional stories to tell.
What prevented me from DNF-ing straight away was Evaristo's intersectional insights and current ideas and experiences. Thankfully, more and more of this appeared with every chapter as I read on. Evaristo challenges norms, invites debate and explores concepts of racism, feminism, education, sexual assault, gender, motherhood, immigration, LGBTQIA+ issues, domestic abuse, platonic love, forbidden love...and so many other things. Unlike with most books, each of Evaristo's characters experiences a different cocktail of the above at different stages of life as we all actually do.
You don't always need to be loud, shocking or dramatic to be powerful and this book is proof of that. Girl, Woman, Other is dignified, empowering, challenging and, it turns out, much less frustrating than I first thought.
Unfortunately, I disliked some of the first characters I was introduced to, especially Yazz. I almost DNF'd after the first chapter from Yazz. Before I did, I looked up reviews from other readers and I found a lot of people were equally as undecided as me during the first third of the book. These readers were mostly all glad that they had persevered and finished it and so I decided to continue on. It was really interesting to find that so many people had mixed feelings about such a critically acclaimed book!
It was a conscious effort for me to slow down against the flow of words and to absorb the voices properly as I read. The effort didn't particularly lighten as I went on either. The writing style did, however, make the narration more conversational and dynamic. I felt I was a part of the conversation, like I was in the room with these characters and I really did enjoy that. I'm not convinced that the benefits of the free form style outweighed the negatives having now finished the book.
I found that some of the characters were also unreliable narrators, Dominique particularly. I usually avoid unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators and I don't remember ever having read a book containing both before. I was a little wary of some voices and therefore not fully immersed every time they popped up.
Like those reviewers who persuaded me to continue reading, I was eventually glad that I persevered. I found stories that I enjoyed, loveable characters and convincing voices used confidently. My favourite was Bummi but I also loved Hattie and Shirley. These were strong, proud, resilient women. They were aware of the mistakes they had made in life and were courageous enough to admit them. They had interesting and emotional intersectional stories to tell.
What prevented me from DNF-ing straight away was Evaristo's intersectional insights and current ideas and experiences. Thankfully, more and more of this appeared with every chapter as I read on. Evaristo challenges norms, invites debate and explores concepts of racism, feminism, education, sexual assault, gender, motherhood, immigration, LGBTQIA+ issues, domestic abuse, platonic love, forbidden love...and so many other things. Unlike with most books, each of Evaristo's characters experiences a different cocktail of the above at different stages of life as we all actually do.
You don't always need to be loud, shocking or dramatic to be powerful and this book is proof of that. Girl, Woman, Other is dignified, empowering, challenging and, it turns out, much less frustrating than I first thought.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
nicolaparty's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Drug use, Self harm, Slavery, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
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