Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel (Booker Prize Winner) (Booker Prize Winner)

by Bernardine Evaristo

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER 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 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.

• ISBN13: 9780802157706
• Publish Date: 3 December 2019 (first published 2 May 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Black Cat
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[moraa]

Be a person with knowledge, not just opinions.

Joint Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2019.
(before you ask, yes, I’ve read The Testaments).

[clementine]

4.5 stars

I thought this was just delightful - clever, vibrant, moving, funny, political. I loved how the convergence of all the characters' narratives revolved around a play, with the book divided into five parts (which could be seen as acts). Each character was so well-developed and interesting. Evaristo simply excels at capturing the multiplicity of Black womanhood in the UK. Her attention to the humanity of her characters is admirable. The treatment of gay and trans characters was wonderful, as well. I yearned to spend more time with some of these characters, and while every perspective was equally interesting and readable, sometimes the shift in POV was a bit sad!

Overall, a book whose humour does not betray its depth, with wonderful writing and larger-than-life characters. Totally recommend.