rachelemm's review against another edition
5.0
Barry and Morris forever! I loved this funny, engaging story from Ms Evaristo who is fast becoming one of my favourite writers.
Mr Loverman follows Barry, a man in the twilight of his life who has finally reached a point where he is ready to leave his wife and be with Morris the man he has loved since childhood. Doing so won't be easy. Barry will have to confront issues he has buried for decades and his wife Carmel must accept that appearances don't matter so much as happiness.
It is a wonderful story, the words almost sing on the page and Evaristo's use of free verse makes the pages fly by. I highly recommended this book to everyone. Love wins, every time.
Mr Loverman follows Barry, a man in the twilight of his life who has finally reached a point where he is ready to leave his wife and be with Morris the man he has loved since childhood. Doing so won't be easy. Barry will have to confront issues he has buried for decades and his wife Carmel must accept that appearances don't matter so much as happiness.
It is a wonderful story, the words almost sing on the page and Evaristo's use of free verse makes the pages fly by. I highly recommended this book to everyone. Love wins, every time.
augiereads7's review against another edition
5.0
I adored this novel. It features an elderly caribbean man in an unhappy marriage and follows his ethical dilemma of revealing his life-long queer love affair: does he risk losing his family after coming out or risk losing his lover and best friend?
Not only is it insanely funny, with fully developed characters and an engaging plot, but it brought me closer to my own father. The protagonist, Barry, is very much a product of his generation - having been brought up in a society and culture where misogyny and homophobia are the norm - and faces criticism from his two daughters. My dad and I often clash about political correctness. After reading this novel, I finally understood his perspective.
Please read. It's a perfect snapshot of the queer, Antiguan older male experience (if such a unique experience can be ever summarised).
Not only is it insanely funny, with fully developed characters and an engaging plot, but it brought me closer to my own father. The protagonist, Barry, is very much a product of his generation - having been brought up in a society and culture where misogyny and homophobia are the norm - and faces criticism from his two daughters. My dad and I often clash about political correctness. After reading this novel, I finally understood his perspective.
Please read. It's a perfect snapshot of the queer, Antiguan older male experience (if such a unique experience can be ever summarised).
lucy_t_firefly's review against another edition
4.0
How is it possible to write a character this well? Fully expect to bump into Barry perambulating down the High Street.
Sad, funny, frustrating, questionable, and tender all at the same time.
Sad, funny, frustrating, questionable, and tender all at the same time.
veelaughtland's review against another edition
5.0
I read this over a longer period than I would have liked (I've been struggling a bit to concentrate on reading this month), but ultimately this didn't affect my utter enjoyment of this book. I haven't really ever read anything like it - the focus on an Antiguan man in his seventies who has been harbouring a secret relationship with his best male friend his entire life was such a breath of fresh air in LGBTQ+ literature.
Barry isn't a perfect man by any means - he has a lot of views that conflict with his own identity, and holds a lot of traditionally homophobic and gendered beliefs, which you would think would put me off as a reader. But no, he is still a completely entertaining character and someone you really want to root for, despite his mistakes. I had more issues personally with his wife Carmel - yes she has been wronged to an egregious level, but there are other elements of her personality that we find out over the course of the book that just made me sad and frustrated. That's what's great about this book, the characters are fully fleshed out and believable and you find yourself at war with your feelings about them almost constantly.
That's two books now that I've given five stars to from Bernardine Evaristo - I feel like she might be a new favourite author for me, and I can't wait to continue working my way through her other books.
Barry isn't a perfect man by any means - he has a lot of views that conflict with his own identity, and holds a lot of traditionally homophobic and gendered beliefs, which you would think would put me off as a reader. But no, he is still a completely entertaining character and someone you really want to root for, despite his mistakes. I had more issues personally with his wife Carmel - yes she has been wronged to an egregious level, but there are other elements of her personality that we find out over the course of the book that just made me sad and frustrated. That's what's great about this book, the characters are fully fleshed out and believable and you find yourself at war with your feelings about them almost constantly.
That's two books now that I've given five stars to from Bernardine Evaristo - I feel like she might be a new favourite author for me, and I can't wait to continue working my way through her other books.
saintrouge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ruthlemon08's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this Evaristo! I’m slowly working my way through her back catalogue and am never disappointed!
wkariuki_'s review against another edition
4.0
I really did enjoy this book. I read it easily and the author handles the matter however complicated delicately. I adored the relationship that Barry and Morris have had since childhood and now finally to live together freely. I love a good happy ending for LGBT+ folks because those are honestly quite rare.
zahin's review against another edition
3.0
Can't believe I finished this book liking Carmel out of all people. God I regret picking this book up. The main character was entertaining for the first 50 pages and after that I wanted nothing more than to strangle a 70 year old man. I loved Morris. He's lovely. There were some slurs used which I believe at my current understanding of LGBTQ+ history that not even non-men should use- that are reserved solely for men. That was something that stood out to me as an err. I like Evaristo's writing and will definitely be picking more up (one of which is literally my uni reading) but this book wasn't the most satisfactory.
reanimatedreader's review against another edition
5.0
Portsmouth Library book.
Not my usual read, and I loved it! An ageing black, immigrant couple come out to their wives and kids after many years hiding their love in Antigua and London. The patois, the heart, the journey, the soul of the characters all blended into a wonderful story.
Not my usual read, and I loved it! An ageing black, immigrant couple come out to their wives and kids after many years hiding their love in Antigua and London. The patois, the heart, the journey, the soul of the characters all blended into a wonderful story.