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A review by renjamin
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
emotional
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
I read this book almost entirely in one day and I found the stories to be incredibly captivating. Evaristo has a way of drawing you into a book with so many characters that I was worried it would all feel lost and quite muddled but I couldn't have been more wrong. My main critique of the book and the thing holding me back from giving this a five-star review is the way that it treats its trans characters. For a book called Girl, Woman, Other, I would've expected a much more nuanced perspective on trans issues. I felt like Morgans character development was rushed and I didn't appreciate the consistent use of the wrong pronouns for them even at points from their own perspective. I also really didn't like that so many of the queer women expressed terf like views that were barely challenged by the people around them even when they disagreed.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Miscarriage
Minor: Antisemitism, Eating disorder, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Police brutality