Reviews tagging 'Death'

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

58 reviews

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

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Racism, Drug use, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Rape, Slavery, Sexism, Sexual content, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Deadnaming

Minor: Cancer, Physical abuse, Abortion, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Addiction, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

lucille_c's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Grief, Drug use, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Transphobia

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Cancer, War, and Slavery

emily_galloway's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was incredible. I love the authors writing style, read almost like poetry at points. I was hooked and loved how each story had some link to another, intertwining these women in small ways. 

This story is so smart. Incredible. 

I cried a few times throughout and would recommend reading trigger warnings however. It's pretty intense in parts. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Addiction, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Drug use, and Infertility

megb64's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexism, Death, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Classism, Racism, Rape, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Grief

eib_21's review

inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death

tatjanasbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, and Colonisation

Minor: Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Abandonment

poenaestante's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

2.0

Shoutout to the critic that shaded this play Misty by Arinze Kene by asking, "are tales of Black trauma catnip for paying audiences...riddled with white guilt?". I was looking for just the right words to explain why I hated Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. There are other reasons, but this really captures the main one so beautifully. The book was also too long with too many characters.  I just simply stopped  caring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Rape, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, Homophobia, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Sexism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, and Domestic abuse

zara89's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Terminal illness, Classism, Death, Body shaming, Child death, Grief, Racism, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Drug use

ninascozydayreads's review

challenging inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

 I bought this book years ago and cannot tell you how many posts I made where I said “I’m definitely going to read it this month!” (too many, that’s the answer). And February was the month! I buddyread it with @taketowlu (<3) and genuinely, I really enjoyed it. When I first heard that it had no punctuation I got a little scared, but it works. Girl, Woman, Other is a beautiful mix between prose and poetry, highlighting what Audre Lorde once said: “poetry is not a luxury, it’s a necessity”. It is through poetry that she manages to bring out the urgency of seeing the connection between humans, and the flaws of humans. It is through this poetry that Evaristo manages to tell the stories of all kinds of people and women: citylivers and countrydwellers, non-binary teens and (frankly) bigoted teachers. It is through this poetry that all these stories are intricately interwoven. 

This book was a powerful piece of storytelling, of testimony, combining past, present and future. It shows that none of us exist in a vacuum, no story exists alone, there is always more of it, and honestly, I loved that. 

It wasn’t the mindblowing book I had expected it to be, if I’m honest. To be fair, I had high expectations because I’d put it off for so long, but I wasn’t wowed at every turn of the page. It also wasn’t disappointing, not at all, but rather than mindblowing I was stunned. I was stunned by the writing and mode of storytelling. There was a calmth while I read it, allowing for the words to sink in. 

There were some hard moments to read; some perspectives are from women who simply aren’t progressive. Those are the only few chapters (luckily there’s not a lot) that I’m not sure how to feel about. I know Evaristo meant to simply tell stories of people, meaning all stories of all kinds of people, and I appreciate that, but they still felt a little off. They didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book though. 

In short, I really did love this book, as a book that I’m gonna carry with me forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Death, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction