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A review by veelaughtland
Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
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.