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hannahbailey's review against another edition
- 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
theheartisanarrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
it reads a bit like non-fiction in a good way, as these intertwined slice-of-life type short stories felt heart-wrenchingly authentic, like peering into the real lives and (often harsh) realities of so many people
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child death and Transphobia
Minor: Suicide and Self harm
thedisabledreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
emilo'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
5.0
2024:
I do really like this book a lot, it’s probably one of my like most favourite ones and i did almost cry.
i do like bernardine evaristo a lot but she did kinda fumble the trans rep. like using characters deadnames, not understanding why we don’t differentiate between medically and non medically transitioned people, not like completely getting trans women and i dunno i would have liked her to write about more about the intersection of race and being trans, which she didn’t really get. that said for a cis woman she really *got* the feelings of a non binary/trans masc experience, and you can tell she did her research.
but i think that it would have helped if one of the other main characters was a trans woman because like it would have been good to see more of the diversity of womanhood. and then it’s like why include morgan? like they are only included in this book because they are afab. and they clearly have a difficult relationship to being assigned female at birth and it was hard for them.
also!! in the dedication of lgbti but not lgbtiaq is wild. like cmon mate. asexuals and aromantics and agender people exist. it’s silly to do the rest of the letters and just forget us. also womyn is transphobic.
that said!!! this book ends on a conclusion of inclusion with amma encouraging domique to be more inclusive in her feminism and in her lesbian festivals.
i do rlly like this book and like again clearly the author put a lot of research in esp if she’s not queer herself.
also!!! why r they all in england??? like scotland is sm fun
anyway i love this book a lot
Minor: Child death, Classism, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Deadnaming, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Violence, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
mme_carton'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
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Classism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Islamophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: War, Slavery, Excrement, and Self harm
Minor: Eating disorder, Cancer, and Infertility
leoniefnk'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
emma_michelle's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This book, once I got used to the style, was breathtaking. It is genuinely exquisite.
Now, fictional social commentary isn't my top genre either - I tend to stick to non-fiction social commentary, or political fiction. Once again, this book changed my perspective.
It follows a series of characters, exploring the lives of (usually) non-conforming British people, spanning race, gender, age, sexuality and also, refreshingly, various political viewpoints. One character is racist, and deals with her own racism in the final chapters, and another is abundant in her love for her great-grandchild, though continues to misgender them out of a lack of understanding of non-binary people.
Most of all, I loved how I was encouraged to feel sympathy for those I would normally disagree with (see: racism and mis-gendering above), alongside questioning the experiences of BAME British people, which, living in a very white area, doesn't always come to the forefront of my mind.
This book is well written, explores different political topics, and is a must read
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
maiahhtratchh's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Cancer
Child sexual abuse, adoption traumateaskate'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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Deadnaming
livimarie'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
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia