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A review by bookswithleesh
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
5.0
Honestly, this book is deserving of all the praise and accolades it has received + more.
Set in contemporary Britain, the novel follows the lives of twelve very different people, mostly black and female and engages with incredibly pertinent themes like racism, intersectionality, feminism, identity, sexuality, politics, even the plight of migrants.
I’ve seen a number of reviews where people were struggling to get into Evaristo’s peculiar writing style (lack of punctuation, free-flowing prose poetry style that she has dubbed “fusion fiction”). I actually loved it from the get-go. The writing style gripped me and I felt like I could understand each characters thoughts and feelings better for it.
As her author’s bio states, ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ challenges myths of various Afro-diaspora histories and identities. The book engages with a myriad of issues and dispels the image of sameness amongst Black and BIPOC women.
My ONLY critique is that given the amount of characters featured in the book, I did have to flick back a few times to remember details about them, particularly where the characters are interrelated. Although, each of the 12 individuals were so dynamic and multi-faceted, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way regardless. So no stars off!
I’d recommend this book to everyone!
Set in contemporary Britain, the novel follows the lives of twelve very different people, mostly black and female and engages with incredibly pertinent themes like racism, intersectionality, feminism, identity, sexuality, politics, even the plight of migrants.
I’ve seen a number of reviews where people were struggling to get into Evaristo’s peculiar writing style (lack of punctuation, free-flowing prose poetry style that she has dubbed “fusion fiction”). I actually loved it from the get-go. The writing style gripped me and I felt like I could understand each characters thoughts and feelings better for it.
As her author’s bio states, ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ challenges myths of various Afro-diaspora histories and identities. The book engages with a myriad of issues and dispels the image of sameness amongst Black and BIPOC women.
My ONLY critique is that given the amount of characters featured in the book, I did have to flick back a few times to remember details about them, particularly where the characters are interrelated. Although, each of the 12 individuals were so dynamic and multi-faceted, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way regardless. So no stars off!
I’d recommend this book to everyone!