moraa
Written on Aug 13, 2020
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).
With her historic Booker win, Bernardine Evaristo is the author everyone is talking about.
The standout book of 2019, Girl, Woman, Other is the number book you need to read this year.
***WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019***
SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
This is Britain as you've never read it.
This is Britain as it has never been told.
From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .
'Masterful . . . A choral love song to black womanhood in modern Great Britain' Elle
'Exceptional. Ambitious, flowing and all-encompassing, an offbeat narrative that'll leave your mind in an invigorated whirl... [It] unites poetry, social history, women's voices and beyond. You have to order it right now' Stylist
'Bernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life' Ali Smith, author of How to be both
'Sparkling, inventive' Sunday Times
'Funny, sad, tender and true, deserves to win awards' Red
'Brims with vitality' Financial Times
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2019
- ISBN10 0241364906
- ISBN13 9780241364901
- Publish Date 2 May 2019
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 7 April 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Imprint Hamish Hamilton Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 464
- Language English
Reviews
Joint Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2019.
(before you ask, yes, I’ve read The Testaments).
clementine
Written on Oct 4, 2019
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.