REVIEW: Girl, Woman, Other

This book is getting a lot of attention at the moment and rightfully so. It is a compelling and captivating novel that I’m oh so glad I had on my TBR shelf.

A friend recommended this to me a little while ago and the Black Lives Matter movement gave me the nudge I needed to pick this up off my shelf. I am SO happy that I picked this up because I am a little bit in love with it.

Girl, Woman, Other is a carefully woven tapestry of twelve characters and their rich stories. They are each very different but are told wonderfully, giving a real insight into twelve different lives and the way they fit into our society, both past and present.

There’s not necessarily a linear plot to follow with these stories which can take a bit of getting used to (as can the lack of capital letters and full stops) but it’s worth taking the time to acclimatise to. Once I had gotten used to it, I found that it made the stories all the more raw. Each of these twelve threads felt intimate and compelling all at once. There was a lot of remark in these seemingly ‘ordinary’ stories. It was a beautiful opportunity to see such different characters and their stories, rather than following a fast paced plot.

Take your time to listen to these stories and you’ll learn a lot from them. It was a real lesson in empathy to read this book and understanding people who might not have a similar life to yours. These are wonderfully complex and detailed characters – their creation is a clear strength of Bernardino Evaristo.

This is a book to savour and reflect on.

It took me quite a long time to read it but I’m glad that I did. I would highly recommend that you do the same.

Kelly x