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A review by kalira
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book wasn't quite what I expected - a bit more of a collection of disparate character studies, rather than anything more plot-directed, despite the interwoven threads of the character's lives. That interweaving was really intriguing, I love seeing people from different angles and points of view, and the way they crossed and recrossed each others' lives was so well done and fascinating.
There were some content notes I would have appreciated knowing about beforehand, honestly (infidelity, drugs, quite a few sexual violence happenings or references, some of which were handled in such a way that skirted very near triggers for me).
The poetry-prose hybrid style gave it a unique feel. Personally the lack of any full stops anywhere in the book, and the likewise lack of anything to denote beginnings or ends of sentences, made it tiring to read at times. The use of linebreaks midsentence and as a stylistic point was really well done practically everywhere it was used and had a good impact.
I didn't like the book, but it was interesting. I winced through some portions of it (large swathes of Morgan's story, for example) and while sometimes the uncomfortable or bigoted/judgemental views seemed true to characters' perspectives, sometimes there seemed to be something bleeding through from the author's perspective herself.
There were some content notes I would have appreciated knowing about beforehand, honestly (infidelity, drugs, quite a few sexual violence happenings or references, some of which were handled in such a way that skirted very near triggers for me).
The poetry-prose hybrid style gave it a unique feel. Personally the lack of any full stops anywhere in the book, and the likewise lack of anything to denote beginnings or ends of sentences, made it tiring to read at times. The use of linebreaks midsentence and as a stylistic point was really well done practically everywhere it was used and had a good impact.
I didn't like the book, but it was interesting. I winced through some portions of it (large swathes of Morgan's story, for example) and while sometimes the uncomfortable or bigoted/judgemental views seemed true to characters' perspectives, sometimes there seemed to be something bleeding through from the author's perspective herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship