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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
No
A must read, beautiful and tender, I absolutely loved this book!!
I had a hard time with the first few chapters because the characters are not very likeable. But I am glad I stuck with it, as the characters gain more dimension. Unfortunately I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters and how they related to others.
3.5-4 stars. This book is about black women in England - their lives, experiences, struggles and triumphs. I’ve read many books centered around American black women, from slavery to present day, but this was a new perspective for me. Each chapter details the life of a new character, yet all of the characters are interwoven. I found most of the women very fascinating, especially the older ones whose lives started generations ago. The younger characters were not as interesting to me, nor as likable. Overall, I’d say the book is a bit long and the characters’ ties to each other a bit confusing and hard to keep track of. I did really like how it made me examine my own thoughts on intersectional feminism, inclusivity and “wokeness” through the lens of women of different ages and experiences.
Absolute masterpiece- interconnected stories of 12 British Black women in modern times, reflecting varied experiences and points of view. Character development in a compact space is very strong, The language is beautiful and evocative, compelling. The audiobook is highly recommended with a great narrator, but the text is laid out in unusual rhythms and stanzas so recommend consuming both the audio and print books. A lot to dig into in these stories, now that I finished i want to start again at the beginning.
Great book. Enjoyed that all the women were inter-linked.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While some moments of this didn't work for me, It all came together in the end. I loved how everyone's stories tied together, and pretty much whenever I has the thought of 'oh, it would've been nice to hear more about that character' they ended up getting their own section. I did listen to the audiobook and can highly recommend.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
almost three stars I would say. I expected to love this more and I was a little disappointed. I really did enjoy learning about Evaristo's protagonists' life stories, and I appreciate that she treated them all with sympathy and dignity regardless of their worldviews and beliefs. But this book could not decide if it was a novel or a manifesto and in this case, those two together did not work for me: As much as I love a book that offers social and political criticism, I like to come to my own conclusions based on the text. I don't need the analysis spelt out for me and slapped in my face at every corner. I wish Evaristo would have let her character's experiences speak for themselves, I think that would have made for a subtle but powerful intersectional feminist critique. Instead, the gender studies lectures and feminist slogans thrown into the book seemed mostly jarring. Also, everyone born after 1990 is insufferable (though apart from the speaking in hashtags, I can definitely see some of me and my uni-friends in Yazz and her squad), and so is the only man who gets to have a part. I think this is a me-problem: I've read better novels and I've read better intersectional feminist manifestos.
I am glad I listened to this as an audiobook with a wonderful narrator because the lower-caps-no-punctuation writing style would have probably pissed me off a lot.
I am glad I listened to this as an audiobook with a wonderful narrator because the lower-caps-no-punctuation writing style would have probably pissed me off a lot.
Poetic in structure, with characters who moved me to tears and a closing twist that left me reeling for days, this was one of the most poignant contemporary fiction novels I’ve read in awhile, and it deserves all the hype it’s received!