Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

95 reviews

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. I thoroughly enjoy a book when it makes me think and pushes me to put it all together. Here we follow the stories of multiple Black women living in the UK, some from birth to their later years. It is told in a very peculiar style, which for me called back the way we remember stories from long ago and/or the way we recall our own memories, with only certain parts standing out in our memory while others are very vague. 

This book is full of really difficult topics, from abuse, abandonment, racism, bigotry, etc., and it is also full of a lot of heart and love between women. I loved the inclusion of trans and lesbian characters since they were the main characters in their respective stories. 

I'd recommend this book if you like multigenerational stories, books where you have to do the work and piece the story together, and if you like diverse books full of conversations surrounding various aspects of feminism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Racism, and Toxic relationship

isabellamarg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Girl, Woman, Other was a beautiful and gritty tapestry of storytelling spanning generations and crossing borders. Each of the characters within this novel is well-written and we get to intimately know each character within the span of a chapter (albeit a long chapter). The connections between characters fleshed out the story and I loved that we hear about different people from others perspectives as the story moves along. This made the world of the novel very rich! We see the reality of human life in which nobody is perfect; humans lie, cheat, and have regrets, nobody is perfect. We fully see the intersection of race, class, gender, and sex as well as the variation in thinking and limitations generationally. 

I think my favorite part of this novel was seeing the characters all come together in the same place in the final chapter creating a full-circle moment for the reader where we see people forgive others and other's misgivings. The epilogue in this novel was also a really sweet treat for the reader with lost connections being found (no spoilers here).

I loved how each section of the novel was broken down into a trio of characters that were somehow related or knew each other. There were a lot of mom and daughter plot lines as well as teachers, siblings, friends, etc. The punctuation and capitalization of the writing honestly did not bother me. I thought it created a poetic flow to the writing that I almost preferred for this type of storytelling. Overall, masterfully written and wonderful book that spans generations of black women and their families. The cohesive exploration of friendship and love while also highlighting injustice in our world made me think deeply about how we carry ourselves through this world. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Minor: Deadnaming, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Addiction

heather667's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infertility, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Transphobia, Abandonment, Biphobia, Bullying, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Deadnaming and Violence

Minor: Eating disorder, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, and Colonisation

b_easelbub's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Child death, and Sexual assault

Minor: Deadnaming and Transphobia

booksjessreads's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Re-read Review
Original review is here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b91e3ed2-4f2d-4e97-8d09-b401a4ba884e

I have wanted to re-read this for such a long time, and decided to borrow the audio from my local library. Evaristo's command of words is masterful. The way the characters intertwine with each other is so clever and intricately done. The character development, the plots, just everything about this book is like nothing I have read before. I absolutely lap it up. 

From my previous review, I quoted another review I had seen about this book, mentioning the prose rhythms mimicking both dialogue and thoughts. The audio further enhanced this and the writing felt so natural and lyrical. It was beautiful. 

I will always highly recommend this book to everyone and could not hold this book in higher esteem.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Deadnaming

ratjoy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Death, Misogyny, Classism, Racism, Pregnancy, Rape, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Dysphoria

Minor: Alcoholism and Deadnaming

gonzogamer's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug use, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

isabezza's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Girl, Woman, Other has been on my TBR for so long and I am kicking myself for not picking it up sooner! Twelve absolutely beautiful short stories delicately woven together. This story is packed with family morals, diverse friendships, dramatic narrative arcs, and love! My only difficulty was the unusual structure with no punctuation making the reading a challenge initially, but I would recommend with a passion once I was over that hurdle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Death, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Mental illness

carolinacortez's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Me tarde más de lo que esperaba leyendo este libro, por que la verdad es algo lento de leer, pero una vez que te tomas tu tiempo es super bello.

I think of the past, of the person I used to be
I dont know where she went

Es super importante que nuestras lecturas sean diversas y algo que a mí me faltaba era leer mujeres POC y que manera de empezar, el libro nos cuenta la historia de once mujeres negras y una persona no binaria, y todas están relacionadas de algúna manera. 

Bummi complained that people viewed her through what she did and not what she was

Me gusto mucho que cuenta los ups and downs de la vida de todes, como hay personajes que amas y como hay unos que odias, como cada une tiene sus errores y sus aciertos, como para cada quien una situación puede parecer de una manera y para otra persona parece de otra manera, las relaciones entre las madres e hijas y las amistades, a mi punto de vista todas las relaciones fueron manejadas muy bien. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Child death, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abortion, Classism, and Miscarriage

imaginaryisobel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Found the chapter structures a little weird at times. Not sure if this was due to it being an audiobook but it felt like it cut off at awkward points/chapters abruptly ended. Felt most of the stories wrapped up pretty well but there were a couple of stragglers, namely LaTisha and winsome who were kinda missed in the ending. Overall an engaging read and some really interesting stories. The only really weak one for me was Yazz's story but the rest were fab.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexism, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Addiction, Racism, Xenophobia, Slavery, and Infertility

Minor: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Deadnaming, Colonisation, Cancer, Antisemitism, and Classism