Book Review: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Book: 35/100

Rating: 4/5

Summary: Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and the first black woman to receive this highest literary honor in the English language. Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of a grou pof black British women. Suffused with empathy and vibrant humor, Girl, Woman, Other is populated with unforgettable characters, from a lesbian playwright to a jaded schoolteacher to a nonbinary social media influencer. Sparklingly witty, centering voices we often see othered, and written in an innovative fast-moving form, this is a polyphonic social novel by a masterful British writer who has finally been lauded at the level she has long deserved.

Thoughts: This is a literary fiction book (heavy on the literary), that was unlike any I've ever read. I can absolutely see how it is a Booker Prize winner! I enjoyed reading and learning about all of these women and loved the multi generational aspect in some of these stories.

The chapters read like short stories, and the further you get into the book the more you discover how all of these characters are interconnected. I love how a major character in an early chapter would pop up as a minor character in later stories.

I love Evaristo's unique style of storytelling and her writing is almost lyrical. It is almost poetic so the writing can take a bit of getting used to, but stick with it!