Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Girl, Woman, Other

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

74 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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ellxnmcgrxth's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

Read in one night, it's very moreish

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brittcoxon's review against another edition

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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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isabellamarg's review against another edition

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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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