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Book Reviewed by:
Elisabeth Cook
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"Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible." ―Booker Prize citation
From one of Britain's most celebrated writers of color, 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. Shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize and the Gordon Burn Prize, Girl, Woman, Other paints a vivid portrait of the state of post-Brexit Britain, as well as looking 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.
BookBrowse Note: This excerpt has been reproduced as close to the layout of the print version of Girl, Woman, Other as BookBrowse's format allows (our page width is slightly narrower than that of the printed book). For those who might look at this and think that the layout is too "experimental" for their tastes, our reviewer offers the following comment:
"...If Evaristo's novel is experimental, though, it's been rigorously tested and is well out of the trial phase. This book is genuinely readable in the purest sense. Characters' speech, ruminations and backstories blend together naturally, proceeding in a version of the off-the-cuff style many of us write in daily as we text or tweet messages that roll out by their own logic, making complete sense to us even if they don't follow traditional formatting. The author has harnessed the easy expressiveness of this style and applied it to a polished and complex narrative..."
Chapter One
Amma
1
Amma
is walking along the promenade of the...
Booker Prize
2019
It’s refreshing to read a book that encompasses such a variety of human perspectives and flaws but that still unequivocally centers blackness, non-male genders and queer sexualities, as well as non-traditional relationships and family arrangements. While Evaristo’s novel entertains many points of view, it doesn’t stumble into moral vagueness or the idea that all opinions and experiences are the same. Instead, it chooses motion over stagnation, self-awareness over denial. It insists on pushing through discomfort and moving forward...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Elisabeth Cook).
Ali Smith, author of Spring
Bernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life. Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie
There is an astonishing uniqueness to Bernardine Evaristo's writing, but especially showcased in Girl, Woman, Other. How she can speak through twelve different people and give them each such distinct and vibrant voices is astonishing. I loved it. So much. Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People
Bernardine Evaristo's books are always exciting, always subversive, a reminder of the boundless possibilities of literature and the great worth in reaching for them. Her body of work is incredible. Elif Shafak, author of Three Daughters of Eve
Bernardine Evaristo is one of those writers who should be read by everyone, everywhere. Her tales marry down-to-earth characters with engrossing storylines about the UK today. Inua Ellams, author of The Half God of Rainfall
Bernardine Evaristo is the most daring, ambitious, imaginative and innovative of writers, and Girl, Woman, Other is a fantastic novel that takes fiction and black women's stories into new directions. Jacob Ross, author of The Bone Readers
Bernardine Evaristo is without doubt one of the most important voices in contemporary British literature. Her phenomenal writing gets at the heart of what affects and concerns us most in these times. Margaret Busby, editor of Daughters of Africa
For a fresh and inspiring take on writing about the African diaspora, there's nothing like a new book by Bernardine Evaristo. Somehow she does it every time! Nikesh Shukla, author and editor of The Good Immigrant
Once again, Bernardine Evaristo reminds us she is one of Britain's best writers, an iconic and unique voice, filled with warmth, subtly and humanity. Girl, Woman, Other is an exceptional work, presenting an alternative history of Britain and a dissection of modern Britain that is witty, exhilarating and wise. Philippa Perry, author of How To Be a Parent
Girl, Woman, Other is brilliant. I feel like a ghost walking in and out and in again on different people's lives, different others. Some I feel close to, some I feel I must have met and some are so 'other' that I have to stretch myself to see them. Mind expanding. Warsan Shire, author of Teaching My Grandmother How to Give Birth
Hilarious, heart-breaking, and honest. Generations of women and the people they have loved and unloved - the complexities of race, sex, gender, politics, friendship, love, fear and regret. The complications of success, the difficulties of intimacy. I truly haven't enjoyed reading a book in so long.
In October of 2019, Bernardine Evaristo took home the Booker Prize in a win that garnered special attention for multiple reasons. Specifically, Evaristo was the first Black woman to win the prize, and she didn't have the win all to herself; the judges split it between Evaristo for Girl, Woman, Other and Margaret Atwood for The Testaments.
This isn't the first time a Booker Prize has been shared by two winners. Judges gave the award to both Nadine Gordimer (for The Conservationist) and Stanley Middleton (for Holiday) in 1974, and also to Michael Ondaatje (for The English Patient) along with Barry Unsworth (for Sacred Hunger) in 1992. However, following the Ondaatje/Unsworth win, the Booker Prize Foundation implemented a rule requiring ...
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