Reviews

Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo

christinaaroney's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I didn't love it as much as 'Girl Woman Other' - I found her writing in poetic medium to be a lot stronger

halftimelord's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The synopsis of Mr Loverman was intriguing but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. The tone wasn't quite right for me, and I didn't get on with Barry, although I liked the other characters. My favourite chapters were Carmel's - I really liked the writing style and the little glimpses into her life contrasting with Barry's.

ellie_cripps's review

4.0

It took me a good amount of this book to get properly into it, but it completely won me over by the end. Such a charming depiction of hugely complex and interesting characters, every character in this deserves a gentle touch and your attention - highly recommend!

orlily's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

jynclmnts's review

4.0

Very funny, very honest, very raw book about marriage and the controversy of being gay and of a certain age and culture.
The way the characters are written in their native dialect is so effective/effecting . Sympathy lies with all the characters!
I love this author.

ystvede's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nini23's review against another edition

4.5

What an irreverent irrepressible character Bernardine Evaristo has created. Full of joie de vivre yet understandably terrified of coming out of the proverbial closet. Barry and Morris have been childhood sweethearts since their schooldays in St John's, Antigua. Now in their seventies living in London England, Morris is divorced from his wife while Barry is acrimoniously unhappily married to Carmel. Carmel is under the erroneous impression that Barry is cheating on her with strumpets. Even without the front cover, I can imagine dapper Barry in his bespoke suit walking down high street.


The characters are stuck in their lives, with realistic reasons like fear of judgment by the community. Bernardine Evaristo really digs into the heart of each and every character, excavating deep truths to reveal what's behind the blustery façade. Even the minor characters have three-dimensional lived in lives and full backstory backgrounds, such as the church ladies. I just love authors who respect and show this compassion to their characters.

I really enjoyed the patois too. The humorous internal thoughts of Barry and his usage of humor to diffuse situations had me chortling. One comes away from this novel with a sense of hope, the world may be spiky and inhospitable but sometimes people who you think you know well may turn out to have the biggest surprises up their sleeves. It is never too late to change and start anew.

CW: homophobia, bigotry, racism, domestic violence, colonialism, death of parent, alcoholism, sexism, infidelity, postpartum depression

cfurniss22's review against another edition

4.0

Really enjoyed this. Was interested to see if I’d enjoy another of Evaristo’s novels as much as ‘Girl, Woman, Other’; I didn’t love it as much as that but it wasn’t far off. Some really interesting topics - found the relationship between Barrington and his sexuality very problematic, coupled with his “gendered attitude”, as Morris puts it.

grace_r_21's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lilyhammond98's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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