Mr. Loverman

by Bernardine Evaristo

"Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney, London, for years. A flamboyant character with a fondness for William Shakespeare, Barrington is a husband, father, grandfather--and also secretly gay. With an abundance of laugh-out-loud humor and wit, Mr. Loverman explodes cultural myths and shows the extent of what can happen when people fear the consequences of being true to themselves. His deeply religious and disappointed wife, Carmel, thinks he sleeps with other women. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away? With an abundance of laugh-out-loud humor and wit, Mr. Loverman explodes cultural myths and shows the extent of what can happen when people fear the consequences of being true to themselves"--Amazon.com, viewed February 21, 2014.

• ISBN10: 161775272X
• ISBN13: 9781617752728
• Publish Date: 1 April 2014 (first published 29 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Akashic Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 300
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

Make a wager on how soon I’ll read this one again. (Soon.) Every character is flawed and fantastic and I love them all.

[clementine]

This is my second book by Bernardine Evaristo devoured in a rather short time frame. There is something very special about her writing. She concocts such believable, flawed characters, giving them authentic voices and experiences. From what I can tell, Evaristo is a straight woman, married to a man, but her treatment of LGBTQ+ characters is so compassionate and insightful that I was sure she was a part of the community while reading her recent (and delightful) Booker winner. Barry is such a fantastic character - self-assured yet insecure, outwardly sexist yet tender towards many women in his life. This book is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, with a very satisfying ending.