Scan barcode
tine29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
ur_mother_779's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Book on CD performed by Anna-Maria Nabirye
Evaristo’s collection of short stories earned her the 2019 Booker Prize, the first black woman to be so honored. As the title implies, the stories all focus on women and girls from childhood to old age and are primarily set in current-day Britain.
Evaristo populates the book with a wide variety of unforgettable characters: a jaded teacher, a lesbian playwright, a nonbinary social media influencer, an ancient matriarch still living on her family’s farm. The stories are loosely interconnected, and the structure reminds me a little of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, though there is no central character that is in every tale.
I am a fan of the short story format and loved the way Evaristo managed to give us a complete picture of these women’s lives using this form. The novel is structured in chapters, with each chapter having three characters’ stories, though all three characters appear in each other’s narratives. I cheered for most of these women (as in real life, there are some stinkers here that I was happy to see go), and found the epilogue, which ties up one story arc beautifully, very satisfying.
I can hardly wait for my F2F book club discussion!
I listened to the audio performed by Anna-Maria Nabirye, who does a marvelous job. She has a lot of characters to deal with, virtually all of them women, and she managed it quite well. Her narration was seamless, and I was never confused about who was speaking. I did have a copy of the text handy, and it is written in a style that eliminates capitalization and punctuation; it has an appearance of poetry on some pages. I don’t think this would have bothered me at all had I read the text, but for those who find non-traditional styles problematic, try the audio. You won’t regret it.
Evaristo’s collection of short stories earned her the 2019 Booker Prize, the first black woman to be so honored. As the title implies, the stories all focus on women and girls from childhood to old age and are primarily set in current-day Britain.
Evaristo populates the book with a wide variety of unforgettable characters: a jaded teacher, a lesbian playwright, a nonbinary social media influencer, an ancient matriarch still living on her family’s farm. The stories are loosely interconnected, and the structure reminds me a little of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, though there is no central character that is in every tale.
I am a fan of the short story format and loved the way Evaristo managed to give us a complete picture of these women’s lives using this form. The novel is structured in chapters, with each chapter having three characters’ stories, though all three characters appear in each other’s narratives. I cheered for most of these women (as in real life, there are some stinkers here that I was happy to see go), and found the epilogue, which ties up one story arc beautifully, very satisfying.
I can hardly wait for my F2F book club discussion!
I listened to the audio performed by Anna-Maria Nabirye, who does a marvelous job. She has a lot of characters to deal with, virtually all of them women, and she managed it quite well. Her narration was seamless, and I was never confused about who was speaking. I did have a copy of the text handy, and it is written in a style that eliminates capitalization and punctuation; it has an appearance of poetry on some pages. I don’t think this would have bothered me at all had I read the text, but for those who find non-traditional styles problematic, try the audio. You won’t regret it.
laelyn's review against another edition
4.0
Ein Buch, über das viel gesprochen wurde und das sogar den Booker Prize gewinnen konnte: Natürlich ging ich an "Mädchen, Frau etc." mit hohen Erwartungen heran. Enttäuscht wurde ich nicht. Evaristo erzählt die Geschichten von zwölf Charakteren, die meisten schwarze Frauen. Auf indirekte Weise besteht eine Verbindung zwischen ihnen, obwohl sie so vollkommen unterschiedlich sind - nicht nur, was ihre Persönlichkeiten angeht, sondern auch ihre sexuelle Orientierung, ihr Alter, die gesellschaftliche Schicht, der sie angehören.
Dabei werden ebenso unterschiedliche Themen angesprochen: von Rassismus über Feminismus, Missbrauch, Drogenabhängigkeit, Radikalismus bishin zu Genderfragen. Das ist viel Inhalt, aber es wird niemals zu viel. Es macht alles Sinn und wird zusammengehalten durch komplexe Charaktere mit ihren eigenen, einzigartigen Perspektiven und Alltagsproblemen. Wie immer gehen einem manche Charaktere und ihre jeweiligen Kapitel mehr ans Herz, aber jedes einzelne Kapitel weiß trotzdem, die Leser*innen zu packen. Allerdings besteht dieses Buch nun einmal auch aus zwölf unterschiedlichen Perspektiven, sodass keinem der Charaktere allzu viel Platz eingeräumt werden kann.
Der Schreibstil ist besonders und erst einmal gewöhnungsbedürftig. Evaristo verwendet kaum Punktuation, insbesondere keine Punkte am Ende ihrer Sätze und keine Anführungszeichen bei direkter Rede. Das macht es manchmal ein wenig anspruchsvoller, der Geschichte zu folgen, führt aber nach einer Weile zu einem ganz besonderen Flow der Geschichte. Immer wieder schwankt das Buch zwischen Prosa und Poesie, auch durch den Einsatz von Textumbrüchen, die den Eindruck eines Gedichtes vermitteln. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass manche Leser*innen mit dieser Form weniger anfangen können, sie ist schon speziell.
Definitiv ein besonderes Buch, das es sich zu lesen lohnt - man sollte sich aber auch die Zeit dafür nehmen. Eine schnelle Lektüre ist das hier nicht.
Vielen Dank an Klett-Cotta und Netgalley für das Leseexemplar!
Dabei werden ebenso unterschiedliche Themen angesprochen: von Rassismus über Feminismus, Missbrauch, Drogenabhängigkeit, Radikalismus bishin zu Genderfragen. Das ist viel Inhalt, aber es wird niemals zu viel. Es macht alles Sinn und wird zusammengehalten durch komplexe Charaktere mit ihren eigenen, einzigartigen Perspektiven und Alltagsproblemen. Wie immer gehen einem manche Charaktere und ihre jeweiligen Kapitel mehr ans Herz, aber jedes einzelne Kapitel weiß trotzdem, die Leser*innen zu packen. Allerdings besteht dieses Buch nun einmal auch aus zwölf unterschiedlichen Perspektiven, sodass keinem der Charaktere allzu viel Platz eingeräumt werden kann.
Der Schreibstil ist besonders und erst einmal gewöhnungsbedürftig. Evaristo verwendet kaum Punktuation, insbesondere keine Punkte am Ende ihrer Sätze und keine Anführungszeichen bei direkter Rede. Das macht es manchmal ein wenig anspruchsvoller, der Geschichte zu folgen, führt aber nach einer Weile zu einem ganz besonderen Flow der Geschichte. Immer wieder schwankt das Buch zwischen Prosa und Poesie, auch durch den Einsatz von Textumbrüchen, die den Eindruck eines Gedichtes vermitteln. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass manche Leser*innen mit dieser Form weniger anfangen können, sie ist schon speziell.
Definitiv ein besonderes Buch, das es sich zu lesen lohnt - man sollte sich aber auch die Zeit dafür nehmen. Eine schnelle Lektüre ist das hier nicht.
Vielen Dank an Klett-Cotta und Netgalley für das Leseexemplar!
laurastrickers's review against another edition
1.0
dnf @ page 196. Every single one of those pages was a slog.
gertymae's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
georgieworm's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
alexiak19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
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
funktious's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
A celebration of black British women’s voices and experiences which should be read widely. Beautifully diverse, with the experiences of immigrants contrasted with those of their British born children - wanting your child to go to university then the pain of them turning their back on their heritage as they do - and the varied experiences of those across a range of sexual and gender identities. The women aren’t all likeable, all the time, (Winsome! How could you?!) but none of us are. Evaristo does a great job of really showing us these women; flaws, dreams, fears, regrets and all. And I enjoyed discovering the interconnectedness of the narratives.
The downside for me was the way the stories were told - all exposition / narrative and very little time actually with the characters, in their lives. This has always been a bugbear of mine (see also The House of the Spirits and Practical Magic) - I like a character driven book but not one that just feels like it’s being. The format, on the other hand, didn’t bother me at all.
The downside for me was the way the stories were told - all exposition / narrative and very little time actually with the characters, in their lives. This has always been a bugbear of mine (see also The House of the Spirits and Practical Magic) - I like a character driven book but not one that just feels like it’s being. The format, on the other hand, didn’t bother me at all.
orangesbian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I ended up liking this more than I thought I would, and the themes throughout are very compelling. However, the writing style just isn’t for me. It feels like the entire book is exposition, that way you’re being told what transpired rather than being guided through the events themselves. I found it a bit of a slog to get through.