Girl, Woman, Other Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Bernardine Evaristo's Booker Prize Win and our BookBrowse Review of Girl, Woman, Other.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Of the various characters in Girl, Woman, Other, which did you relate to the most and why? Consider why the author chose to start the novel with Amma, Yazz, and Dominique's stories. Who is being othered in the novel? Provide examples from the text to support your answers. Share what the title means to you. What experiences have you had that made you feel a sense of otherness?
2. It is believed that the last Amazon of Dahomey, a woman named Nawi, died in 1979 at the age of 100. What is the significance of the play and what does it reveal about Amma? Of the twelve women, who do you think represents Nawi in the novel? Talk about the lives and occupations of the female characters. How do they evolve over the course of the story? What events trigger their growth?
3. Discuss how marriage, identity and sexuality are depicted in the novel.

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Black Cat. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.