Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mr. Loverman

Wow. Bernadine Evaristo does not 👏🏼 mess 👏🏼 around 👏🏼 After reading ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ and obsessing over it, I was over the moon when I saw this book in Waterstones! I adore Barry and you can really feel how nuanced and multifaceted he is (in terms of his career, his culture and his sexuality - none of it is black or white and feels three-dimensional)! The end surprised and made me squeal though 🥰

Because although Barry is a dick, I expected her to be a ‘woman of God’ whatever that means and to stay with him for life somehow! I didn’t see this transformation building!

I am recommending this to anyone who will tolerate my squeals about it, it is STUNNING 🏳️‍🌈

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waybeyondblue's review

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emotional funny inspiring reflective sad 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

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samixox's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

4.75

As a Black queer girl who is struggling with the idea of ever coming out to my homophobic family this book was what I needed. It is the story of an Antiguan gay man learning to accept his own sexuality while constantly being surrounded by (sometime also internalised) homophobia while he learns to see the good in people. He's no saint and doesn't pretend to be. Reading it made me feel like I was in London. This is his story of still daring to be brave while being only human.

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alayamorning's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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? Yes

3.75

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

This book was fantastic: beautifully written with complex characters. I found myself liking Barry in spite of myself. His attitudes rubbed me the wrong way and often reminded me of male family members whom I find exhausting. Even so, I found myself very entertained by him and feeling compassion for him as a human. I thought he was excellent as an untrustworthy narrator.

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lya_thebananahead's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

This was my first Evaristo and now I'm excited to dive more into her work. The characters in this story are flawed, funny and beautiful humans. I don't think I've ever read such a true and yet lighthearted portrayal of the elderly. The ending does feel too free of conflicts, but the rest of the story is so captivating I didn't find myself caring much for the rushness.

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kayleyhyde's review

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emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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tina94's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

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