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

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Finally a Booker Prize winner I enjoyed! It tells the stories of 12 different women, all related to at least one other as relations, friends, mentors, etc. Through these characters vignettes you get to see deeper into that character’s backstory, experiences and emotions which often challenge societal ideas of race, gender, age, feminism and so on. Evaristo often introduces characters cleverly through the prejudiced view of another character, to then flip those preconceptions through that character’s own chapter, revealing their hidden depths and internal struggles.
It’s hard not to compare it to The Overstory which I listened to at the same time. Both have lots of characters with storylines that only sometimes intersect. However Girl, Woman, Other was so much more engaging and Evaristo really made each character’s voice feel unique and individualised.