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ellxnmcgrxth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Alcohol, Grief, Infidelity, Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Suicide
hannahbailey's review
- 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
4.5
Generally I prefer not to read character-vignette novels written in third-person. But this novel just goes to show that when done well, I can really enjoy them! I loved the distinct voice of each character and how they would be name-dropped in one chapter only to be the main character of the next one. It built such an interesting and creative narrative without leaving me feeling I didn't know enough about them–which is usually the case for me with character-vignettes.
Surprised to see some reviews stating the character dialogue and mix of poetry/prose was hard to believe and unrealistic. I completely disagree! The inner dialogue of the female characters was relatable and familiar. I enjoyed the exploration of womanhood and motherhood and how this intersects with race in Britain. It was an interesting and sobering read.
It was almost 5 stars, but there was a part where the character overcomes drug addiction by sheer willpower–they literally stay at home for a week without any form of support and somehow recovers? This didn't feel realistic to me especially given the vulnerability and young age of the character. That said, this was one of the chapters that really stood out to me in its exploration of body/gender dysphoria and trans joy.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
jo_lzr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Addiction, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Police brutality and Confinement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Cancer
anapthine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infertility, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Violence, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Bullying, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Moderate: Slavery, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Violence, and Drug abuse
Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
glitterpricked's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
it took me about 80 pages to get into the book, and I was convinced I'd end up rating it about 2.5*. however, I'm glad I continued because I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Amma started off the book and was the hardest section to get through as it read more like a list than a novel. Yazz, Amma's daughter, followed, a character I found somewhat unlikeable so hard to read.
however, I concede that me struggling for the first 80 pages could be because: Amma acted as the set-up to the book; I was getting used to the writing style (little punctuation and not very prosaic); and the book I read before this was The Picture of Dorian Gray, which has long flowy descriptions at times, very different to this book.
reading tips: I'd say power through the first two characters, Amma and Yazz, and only decide to give up while you're reading Dominique's story. also keep in mind that the author is purposefully making these characters complex, so there will be character traits that you do not like.
things I liked about the book:
- the way the author depicted certain themes, including (but probably not limited to): success, generation gaps, motherhood, sisterhood, misogyny, racism, womanhood, aging
- characters are often portrayed as acting in ways that are hypocritical or selfish, which makes them very realistic
- the "happy endings" are realistic and subjective
- the characters are all from different backgrounds and have very distinct personalities
- I cried NINE times during this book... that says enough
- the interconnections were done really well: some sections made me really empathise with characters who I previously did not like because of their treatment of other characters
- the ending very nicely tied one plotline together
things I did not like:
- the author comes across as a little out of touch during Yazz's section, using unnecessary slang (e.g. "squad"...) and hashtags thrown in for no reason (e.g. #whitegirltrumpsblackgirl...)
- to begin with, switching from character to character tired me out a little bit (e.g. by the end of Yazz's section, I wanted to know more about her and her group of friends)
- there were a few points where the discourse felt a little surface-level and so didn't offer anything new
- didn't have much of an opinion on Amma until Dominique's section, which is strange as the first two sections were about Amma and Amma's own daughter
- character flaws feel like they're going too far sometimes
- there was one character who I wish the author came back to at the end but didn't
- this may be my fault but other reviews have also said that at some points, the character names got confusing, especially with all the minor characters in chapter five
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, and Transphobia
holly_daze_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Blood
sheryl_macca's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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