NATIONAL BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE
“A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with energy and humor. There is never a single moment of dullness in this book and the pace does not allow you to turn … does not allow you to turn away from its momentum.”—Booker Prize Judges
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 the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of contemporary Britain and looks back to the legacy of Britain’s colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.
The twelve central characters of this multi-voiced novel lead vastly different lives: Amma is a newly acclaimed playwright whose work often explores her Black lesbian identity; her old friend Shirley is a teacher, jaded after decades of work in London’s funding-deprived schools; Carole, one of Shirley’s former students, is a successful investment banker; Carole’s mother Bummi works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter’s lack of rootedness despite her obvious achievements. From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm in Northern England, these unforgettable characters also intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class.
Sparklingly witty and filled with emotion, centering voices we often see othered, and written in an innovative fast-moving form that borrows technique from poetry, Girl, Woman, Other is a polyphonic and richly textured social novel that shows a side of Britain we rarely see, one that reminds us of all that connects us to our neighbors, even in times when we are encouraged to be split apart.
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An absolute masterpiece. Basically everything that is good about fiction is exemplified beautifully in these pages.
Girl, Woman, Other follows the story of several different characters. Don’t let the multiple POVs put you off. Each character’s story is told as a short story, but there is a thread that links all of them together. It makes the transitions smooth enough to not jar you out of the experience.
It begins with playwright Amma, then tells Amma’s daughter’s story then jumps to Dominique, Amma’s friend. Other chapters skip from one generation to the next, showing a daughter’s perspective to a mother’s perspective to a great-grandmother’s perspective. I’ve never read a book that delves this deeply into what it is like to be a woman.
Every single one of these stories is either relatable or eye-opening, or both. This book amplifies voices that have for too long been drowned out. I’m sure I’m reiterating many others when I say, read this book. It’s a wonderful book and it will change your perspective on the world. It’s easy to read, fast-paced and every single character leaps from the page. I’m not surprised this book has won so many awards, it’s very special.
Loved it! Fabulous, unputdownable, clever, witty… awe-inspiring. A total joy.
I couldn’t get into this book, despite trying a couple of times. I found the strange setting out of lines and lack of punctuation off-putting and a constant intrusion on my ability to read and take in the characters.
Disappointed that it was such a struggle, as the characters seemed to be developing in an interesting way. Just not enough. I couldn’t finish it before I had to return it to my library.
What a wonderful read. I loved all of these women, each of their stories is full and vibrant and complete on their own but they are also entwined in friendship, love and family. One of those books you wish didn’t end.