A review by isabellamarg
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Girl, Woman, Other was a beautiful and gritty tapestry of storytelling spanning generations and crossing borders. Each of the characters within this novel is well-written and we get to intimately know each character within the span of a chapter (albeit a long chapter). The connections between characters fleshed out the story and I loved that we hear about different people from others perspectives as the story moves along. This made the world of the novel very rich! We see the reality of human life in which nobody is perfect; humans lie, cheat, and have regrets, nobody is perfect. We fully see the intersection of race, class, gender, and sex as well as the variation in thinking and limitations generationally. 

I think my favorite part of this novel was seeing the characters all come together in the same place in the final chapter creating a full-circle moment for the reader where we see people forgive others and other's misgivings. The epilogue in this novel was also a really sweet treat for the reader with lost connections being found (no spoilers here).

I loved how each section of the novel was broken down into a trio of characters that were somehow related or knew each other. There were a lot of mom and daughter plot lines as well as teachers, siblings, friends, etc. The punctuation and capitalization of the writing honestly did not bother me. I thought it created a poetic flow to the writing that I almost preferred for this type of storytelling. Overall, masterfully written and wonderful book that spans generations of black women and their families. The cohesive exploration of friendship and love while also highlighting injustice in our world made me think deeply about how we carry ourselves through this world. 
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