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A review by indahmarwan
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
5.0
This book depicts the stories of twelve characters who are mostly women, Black and British. The format of the writing might be confusing at the beginning but as I continued I could care less about and even enjoyed it. “They tell the stories of their families, friends, and lovers across the country and through the years.”(Goodreads) - Which I find fascinating on how they are all connected to each other. How the ending ties them all up together brings great pleasure for me, closing the book with a smile.
From all the characters, I found Waris’ story highly resonates with me. It is not only because she is Muslim woman with the hijab but probably because this conversation I kept highlighting and took a minute for me to stop as I thought her voice was mine.
“…as Waris continues talking, says she’s learned to give good as she gets if anyone says any of the following
…
that she’s oppressed and they feel her pain
…
if anyone asks her if she’s going to have and arranged marriage
if anyone asks her why she dresses like a nun
if anyone speaks slowly to her like she can’t speak English
if anyone tells her that her English is really good
if anyone asks her if she’s had FGM, you poor thing”
“it is compared to half a million people who died in the Somali civil war, I was born here and I’m going to succeed in this country, I can’t afford not to work my butt off, I know it’s going to be tough when I go on the job market but you know what, Yazz? I’m not a victim, don’t ever treat me like a victim, my mother didn’t raise me to be a victim.”
That last sentence really hit me hard.
All the stories amplify the diverse voices of contemporary Black British with a dynamic feminist perspective. Girl, Woman, Other is another first of authors I surprisingly adore and I would definitely look at Mr. Loverman.
#BernardineEvaristo #GirlWomanOther
#bookreview #bookstagram
From all the characters, I found Waris’ story highly resonates with me. It is not only because she is Muslim woman with the hijab but probably because this conversation I kept highlighting and took a minute for me to stop as I thought her voice was mine.
“…as Waris continues talking, says she’s learned to give good as she gets if anyone says any of the following
…
that she’s oppressed and they feel her pain
…
if anyone asks her if she’s going to have and arranged marriage
if anyone asks her why she dresses like a nun
if anyone speaks slowly to her like she can’t speak English
if anyone tells her that her English is really good
if anyone asks her if she’s had FGM, you poor thing”
“it is compared to half a million people who died in the Somali civil war, I was born here and I’m going to succeed in this country, I can’t afford not to work my butt off, I know it’s going to be tough when I go on the job market but you know what, Yazz? I’m not a victim, don’t ever treat me like a victim, my mother didn’t raise me to be a victim.”
That last sentence really hit me hard.
All the stories amplify the diverse voices of contemporary Black British with a dynamic feminist perspective. Girl, Woman, Other is another first of authors I surprisingly adore and I would definitely look at Mr. Loverman.
#BernardineEvaristo #GirlWomanOther
#bookreview #bookstagram