A review by danielles_reads
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

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

3.75

I had high expectations for this one, because even though I don't read much litfic, I'd heard so many people rave about this. And while I can understand why people love this, it wasn't a new favorite for me. I did really enjoy following along with some of the characters (mostly the older ones—Bummi and Hattie were my favorites), but some of them were either extremely unlikeable or just felt like they were there to check a box. A lot of these stories felt like the author making a list of the most traumatic thing that could happen to a person, and then creating an entire character around that. And some of the stories felt like they didn't really delve into the long-lasting effects of these traumatic events as much as they should have. Most of the stories ended so abruptly too, and I was sad to get to the end of Bummi and Hattie's stories.

I'm always a sucker for interconnected short stories, so I really enjoyed seeing the different connections here. I also enjoyed getting to see the same situation from different characters' POVs, as I love seeing how people interpret things differently. Some stories had me wanting to go back and reread to directly compare. The ending definitely elevated the book entirely for me, as I teared up a bit.
Even though it is unrealistic for Penelope to change her racist mind so quickly, I could really feel both her and Hattie's emotions at finally being reunited in their old ages. Very heartwarming.
The afterparty at the end bringing a lot of the characters together was fun, though Amma and her crew were the least interesting in the story to me, so it was disappointing to me that the book focused on her and her friends and family in the last bit. I really did not care about Rowland at all, and it felt extremely out of place to focus on a man in the epilogue?? Weird.

Yazz was my least favorite character of everyone. I actually had to take a break from the book for a bit during her chapter because she was so goddamn annoying. At first I thought man, Evaristo really nailed the self-importance of teenagers, but then it just started feeling very fake and moralizing. Like when her white girl friend was lecturing Yazz on intersectional feminism 101... like come on. Amma and Dominique acted in similar ways too, constantly going on about feminism that was just tiring (especially since they were revealed to be TERFs at the end...). Like I know this already, these characters are not coming off as intellectual activists like I think was intended. Dominique's story was really heartwrenching though, and it was great to see her
regain her independence after an abusive relationship (and not just men can be abusers)
.

Carole's story was really sad, especially
the gang rape when she was 13, like holy shit, that was a lot.
And the whole discussion around her losing her Nigerian culture to assimilate into full English mode just to be successful was sad too. I loved getting Bummi's side of things, even though she was incredibly immature. I mean, she didn't talk to her daughter for two whole months, what the fuck. I was so invested in all her relationships though, and cried at her losses. It was great to go back to LaTisha's story after Carole's, though right when I was starting to get invested, her story ended.

Shirley's story was alright, I guess. It was sad to see her lose her love for teaching as the system wore her down. Winsome's story was... kinda awful honestly.
Sleeping with her son-in-law?? That was so random and weird.
Penelope's story was alright (I did cheer for her being able to
divorce her husband in order to work as a teacher
) but the ending did redeem her.

Morgan's story was interesting because the gender politics of that section felt soooo outdated, even though this book is only 5 years old. It's interesting how much the queer community has changed in the last few years. Like I did not expect to hear "transsexual" be referred to as the correct term. I can't speak to the accuracy of the representation but I did like the character and how they grew into their relationship with Bibi. Hattie was definitely my favorite though. I love her dedication to her farm and her family. Grace's story was really sad, especially after Hattie's.

Overall I did like this, and I would recommend to people who like interconnected short stories.

Characters: 4
Plot / Pacing: 3.5
Setting / World Building: 4
Writing Style: 3.5
Themes: 3.5
Rating: 3.75
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