Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

129 reviews

matmatmatty's review

challenging emotional inspiring 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? N/A

5.0

For anyone reading this review to find out if they should read it, please PLEASE check out the CW/TW beforehand! Those scenes are written so beautifully and they aren't graphic but were still very emotional.

I am honestly a little speechless after reading this.

I've had this book on my shelf for a while, and had a lot of people suggest it to me, but only recently got around to reading it.

This is such an important story that I really cannot recommend more. I wish I had read it earlier and had the opportunity to take in what I took from it then.

This story follows 12 separate characters and their story of self discovery and finding themselves. Some of these stories are within a couple of years, some over entire lifetimes. They are all unique and feel so real.

All of these stories are connected, in different ways, and you get to hear about characters from multiple perspectives (including their own) which gives them a greater depth (I also got to think about how we can be our own unreliable narrator for ourselves and those around us)

Evaristo's writing style might not be for everyone - it's very poetic and not structured like a "typical" writer but if that's a barrier for you, I would really try to overcome it because this book is so worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Transphobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage

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

coco43cl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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: Drug use, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Rape, Child death, Lesbophobia, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia

brittcoxon's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Wow. A book that gives you a glimpse into so many lives. A unique look at the intersection of being LGBTQ and black. A complex set of stories, all interconnected, visiting friends and family, current times and historical. Some characters stories are harder to read than others, this book deals with some very difficult topics, ones that are sadly very familiar.
By the end of the book I felt I knew all our characters so well, their lives, influences and ambitions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent

siebensommer's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

she’s mum’s emotional caretaker - always has been, always will be. it’s the burden of being an only child, especially a girl, who will naturally be more caring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Transphobia, Drug use, and Racism

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

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Outing, Slavery, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Bullying, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Racism, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

Minor: Infertility

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

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