Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo follows the lives of twelve characters and their personal stories spanning a period of over a hundred years. The stories are colorful and individual to these characters and somehow explain their perspective of being a black woman in Britain through the decades with the odd exception of the other. The author, in her own words, likes to mix things up and cross borders of race, culture, gender, history, and sexuality. The seamless integration of all these elements in Girl, Woman, Other is what makes the book engrossing. This is a brilliant work of fiction and highly recommended.

Unique in style and substance this is well deserving of the acclaim it’s been given over the last year. Especially poignant at the moment but also demonstrating the long, long history of the challenge that women of colour face.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for my copy. I loved this book. It explores so many important issues that face and have faced women over many years, as well as looking at racial integration, sexuality, education, class, immigration... Such an expansive and wonderful book - beautifully written. Such a thought-provoking read. Really brilliant.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books, and the author Bernadine Evaristo.
This novel definitely kept things fresh and interesting! You follow the cast of 12 black, British, and female characters on their personal journeys through the UK over the last 100-150 years, and they all intertwine in different, delicate ways. I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed ‘Three Women’, or any other book focused on female narratives.
My only criticism is that the short stories are a slightly predictable and superficially connected. The execution is a little disjointed and it was sometimes difficult keep track of the progression. I would agree with some other reviewers that the stories are reminiscent of magazine articles in style and execution, which do not fully translate to the novel format. For that reason, 4 stars.

Split into parts which each follow three main characters in turn, funnily enough a girl, woman and someone else. They're intertwined, some in subtle ways, others brought together at an aftershow party.

The format is quite unusual but this was an incredibly well written book and I'd highly recommend.

What a brilliant exploration of black women’s lives. Truly a worthy winner of the Booker Prize. The writing is excellent and the characters are beautifully drawn. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hamish Hamilton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the most part I really enjoyed this book.
It read as though it was a collection of literary short stories focussed on the intercepting and overlapping lives of each character, which I really enjoyed.
The feeling of this changed however when it moved to the 'afterparty' and 'epilogue' sections, which I didn't enjoy as much.
I did think it was an interesting book overall from an inclusivity perspective. It highlights the different perspectives and experiences of gender, and was quite refreshing in the sense that it wasn't overly 'preachy', as some books of that ilk tend to be, but was more focussed on the characters experiences through their lives.
I would recommend this book to others, and did enjoy it overall.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo is a wonderful book, richly deserving of all the accolades that have been heaped upon it. I was engrossed by the stories of the twelve very different characters and the ways in which their stories were interconnected, weaving in and out of each other over the course of the book. By the end of it I felt like I knew some of these people as friends, and I was completely engaged in their worlds, their struggles and their successes. The writing style feels almost like poetry rather than prose, with its carefully honed sentences that seem to bleed from one to the next without conventional punctuation, in the same way that these women's stories bleed into one another. This is an unabashedly modern and feminist book that looks at what it means to be a woman from an intersectional point of view by using characters of different ages and abilities from differing socio- economic backgrounds , all of whom are struggling in some way or another.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

Overall I enjoyed this. I found it quite fun to read each relatively short section about each character to then spot their connections with other characters throughout the book. Also eye-opening to see how different people have such different experiences in life and in Britain, and also to see what Britain and being British means to all these people. An interesting read and one I may come back to re-read some time in the future

I have to start by saying that this is the best book I’ve read this year so far; it’s utterly incredible! I put off reading it for a little while as I got it into my head that it was going to be difficult but it really wasn’t. It’s set out in five sections – the first four each have three sections following a different woman and the final section brings everything together. I love how much we learn about each woman and how distinct they are, and I loved discovering how each female in the group of three were connected. There is so much to learn about these woman and every single one was fascinating and believable. I got absorbed in each individual’s story and the novel as a whole, it’s such a brilliant and beautiful book and is one I will definitely re-read in the future. In fact I already want to go back and read it again now and I rarely feel like that on finishing a book. If you haven’t already read this one then I urge you to pick it up soon.

This was out of my.comfort zone for genres but I'd heard good things. I did enjoy it but it wasn't something I would read again, I just didn't gel with the storyline

Short story collections aren't typically my thing but Bernadine Evaristo's nomination (and subsequent win) for the Booker Prize meant that this book swept straight to the top of my to be read pile. Honestly, I should have stuck to my gut and it should have stayed at the bottom. Because, though the writing had flair and Evaristo has undeniable talent, the conventions of the style meant that I felt cheated - I spent too much time with some characters, too little with others and, by the end of it (even though I was impressed), I felt like I went away with little more than momentary, fleeting impressions and character archetypes.

This book is composed of the stories of twelve women who are all interconnected.

At the beginning of this book I struggled to get into this book. I think this was down to the writing style as it is so different to anything that I have read before.
It covers many topics- racism, single motherhood, lesbian relationships, drugs and sexual violence.

This is a unique book which shows an insight in the lives of women of colour. A fascinating read.

I am definitely late to this, having been fortunate enough to have received a digital ARC via Netgalley and kindly approved by the publishing house, Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin.
“Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernadine Evaristo, hit the headlines this time last year for being a joint winner of the Booker Prize – the first time the jury couldn’t agree. The other book was The Last Testament, the much anticipated sequel to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

Given that “Girl, Woman, Other” is the story of twelve interwoven women, who share heartbreak and racism, being excluded and ignored even by those who are meant to love them, it is both deliciously apt and infuriatingly obvious that of course the first black female author, and the first black British one, to win had to share the limelight. I am in no way detracting from Atwood’s novel, it’s in my TBR and I’m looking forward to reading it. I just wish Evaristo’s work had been allowed to stand as the one winner, instead of being caught up in a ‘diversity’ argument which no-one won.

Anyway, back to the book. I might describe these as short stories, a window to the world of twelve interesting women, if it wasn’t for the fact that their stories weave between each other’s and they pop up as cameos elsewhere. Each time a familiar face walks into the room, is someone’s cousin or best friend, I got a little wave of recognition, of familiarity.

In an anthology of women’s voices, like this one, it can be really common to see them blend together a bit – it’s tough to keep all of them separate. This is the author’s eighth book though, and she clearly knows how to keep all of those people distinct in her head and on the page. One story is about a girl gang raped at 13 and determined to make something of herself, outrunning her shame. Her Mum’s story is of being orphaned young and making it to the UK before realising it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I realise they both sound depressing, but somehow they’re not – they’re real stories of highs and lows, of what you can do with a voice and a vision.

Being white and middle class, I can’t relate to some of the experiences told beyond trying to be empathetic and being heartbroken that this happens, and still does happen, in the world today. I never felt like I wasn’t part of the story – it might not have been one that I have lived, but I appreciated seeing the view and hopefully taking that on elsewhere, in real life. I have talked before about reading books where I am part of the choir, and in this instance, I felt like I had learned something new.

I loved the connections, the themes of trying to find your place in the world, finding65 the people who know you and love you, whether that’s an amazing office block in Kings Cross with the SoHo theatre babes or a commune for women-only in America, where help comes from an unexpected place. I wanted to draw it all out in a sort of family tree, connecting the women with push pins and string. I might still do that.

One thing about the writing which might be useful to know - it's written in a flowing, stream of consciousness that involves very little punctuation. It all works though, and it took me probably a quarter of the book to notice the lack of capital letters. 

Read this, if you haven’t. Read it again if you have and pass it on to more people who would benefit from seeing in a new way.

Thanks as always to Netgalley and to Hamish Hamilton, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read it.

Now this was an interesting one - I didn't know what to expect because although this book comes with fantastic reviews, I don't traditionally have great track records with award winning reads.

I will admit that when I started the book, I really struggled to get into it. At 10% I even asked members of my book group whether anyone else had read it and struggled. At 21% though, something happened and I really got into it. This is a great story - I loved finding out about the lives of the various women. There is sadness, loss, humour and hope within this book. I loved the story of Carole, Dominique and Hattie.

I would question what the lack of punctuation does bring to this book though. I'm always intrigued whether I'm supposed to get a deeper understanding because there are no commas and speech marks.

I started to lose interest slightly at the end when it was back to Amma's story but it cannot take away that this is an excellent read.

There’s so much to savour in ‘Girl, Woman, Other’. Bernadine Evaristo, surely one of Britain’s most adept novelists at creating a sense of time, space and personality, brings together a connection of characters so vividly the reader feels like a fly on the wall.

The novel’s key failing though, is a by-product of that melting pot. A novel brimming with so many narratives can only ultimately only dilute its message somewhat. There’s so much going on that one’s head starts to spin, especially when coupled with the unconventional grammatical structure. That structure can make Evaristo’s writing somewhat impenetrable. This is undoubtedly an important novel but one which may not appeal to those looking for a tight narrative and a glut of punctuation.

“Girl, Woman, Other” tells the stories of 12 characters, all black and mainly women, covering the length and breadth of England and spanning over 100 years from the birth of the twentieth century to the present day.

I’ve seen a lot of love for “Girl, Woman, Other” all over the place, last year it was the joint Booker Prize Winner and this year it is on the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, as well as a steady stream of positive reviews from readers on bookstagram. For me, reading and reviewing such a critically acclaimed and well loved book can be a daunting task and I often have to remind myself that whether or not you like a book is a very subjective thing and just because a book has won awards doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to be my cup of tea.

Evaristo’s writing style is quite unusual here. I haven’t read anything else by her so I’m not sure if this is always her style or if it was a particular choice she made for this book to move away from a more traditional style. There are no full stops, no capital letters at the start of sentences, no speech marks and the paragraph structure is different than anything I’ve read before. This did make it a little difficult to get into at the start and it took me until almost the halfway point before I could really say I had got my head round the writing style and started to properly enjoy it.

There’s not really a set plot; the book is roughly split into 4 sections with each section telling the stories of 3 people whose lives are closely connected and throughout we see slightly more loose connections between all 12 of the main characters. For example, the first section focuses on Amma, Yazz and Dominique. Amma and Yazz are Mother and daughter and Dominique is Amma’s former business partner and lover and is Yazz’s Godmother. The main sort of linking thread that adds a bit of focus is Amma’s play for which it is opening night at the start of the book. The stories are told in almost more of a stream of consciousness rather than in any traditionally structured way. With Yazz’s story, in particular, I could hear the youthfulness of her character and you could almost imagine overhearing her talking to her friends on the bus in the way it was written.

That being said, once I got my head round the unusual style I did enjoy it. It was kind of a step outside my comfort zone but sometimes it’s good to be challenged by what we’re reading. As a white woman I obviously haven’t faced the same challenges as the characters Evaristo writes about, although I wouldn’t say I’m completely blind to the struggles of black men and women, there are just some things you can never fully appreciate without experiencing them. This book does also show that actually black women also face a lot of the same challenges as white women would in the same circumstances. Not all the prejudices we come across in the book are due to the characters’ race.

Without giving too much away there is a nice moment in the epilogue between two of the characters and although I saw it coming that didn’t spoil it.

I would say this probably isn’t a book to dip in and out of, I found it enjoyed it much more if I had time to read large sections at once. I loved the way you saw hints at a different side to some of the characters when they showed up in the stories of others and if I had to pick a favourite it would be Hattie. Her story is great and I love the way she is truly the absolute matriarch of her whole family and supported Morgan’s choices, even though she couldn’t fully understand them.

At times Evaristo did stray into preachy territory with some of the characters voicing extremely strong opinions on quite divisive topics like gender, LGBTQ rights and feminism and, I’m not going to lie here, some of the statements I didn’t even fully understand. As I said, this isn’t a book purely about race, Evaristo weaves a lot of issues into her characters’ stories.

I’m glad I read this and overall I did enjoy it but I would say that the writing style won’t be to everyone’s taste so if you don’t enjoy books that stray from the traditional punctuation, sentence and paragraph structures then this might not be for you and please don’t feel that you have to like it purely because of the awards it has won. There are a lot of books out there that regularly feature on “must read” lists and I absolutely wouldn’t touch with a barge pole, *cough* “Moby Dick” *cough*. Apologies, I know coughing isn’t the done thing right now, I think something went down the wrong way!

An absolute joy to read! This one had been on my NetGalley list for a while - until the lockdown came to be precise - and I kicked myself for not reading it sooner. With glorious characterisation the novel follows 12 characters, mostly black British women, at points in their interconnecting lives. In turns uplifting, joyous, utterly heartbreaking, shocking and deeply thought-provoking in so many respects, this is one worthy Booker winner.

A beautiful exploration of the dark side of British nationalism that validated my own experiences and for that alone, I loved this book.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but the blurb held an interesting premise.
Unfortunately, I found it very hard to get into.
The way the book was written with no regard to traditional structure or punctuation was different, but also confusing.
Nevertheless, each short section detailing a different strong woman's life was intriguing. I had to read to the end to find out how it all tied together.
But... I just wish there were fewer characters, so I could get to know some in more detail, rather than so many, women, who seemed to blend into each other after a while.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.