Date of Completion: 24/12/2020
‘Girl, Woman, Other‘ is a much-needed tribute to the lives and struggles of black women in Britain. Themes such as feminism and diversity are expertly presented through the depiction of women from different backgrounds, careers, ages, and sexuality.
millions of women are waking up to the possibility of taking ownership of our world as fully-entitled human beings
how can we argue with that?
Although there are 12 main characters, their individual narratives are packed with many minor characters. Together, these accounts capture a diverse spectrum of experiences endured by primarily black women. Some characters are more likeable than others, whilst some are much easier to connect with compared to others. Regardless, Bernardine does a great job of giving each character a unique voice that brings something new to the table.
Bernardine’s non-conventional writing and structure is another appealing feature of this book. The smooth, poetic flow of her writing works really well for the book and the narratives it contains. I also loved how characters across the book cross paths at various stages of life and in diverse ways. This not only creates a strong bond that ties all twelve narratives together, but it made me eager to find out how each narrative is connected to the others.
That said, I am someone who loves forming deep connections with at least one character in a book. However, the sheer number of narratives presented in this book prevents such deep attachments from being established. Besides this, I found the main characters to be slightly too one-dimensional. This is because they seem to quickly overcome challenges such as losing their significant other, abuse, and rape so the narrative can progress. This soon made me uninterested in the characters and their full narratives.
In all honesty, the only reason I finished reading this book was that I had come across remarks stating that Bernardine does a great job of bringing most characters together at the end. Even then, when I finally reached that moment, I was far more interested in finishing the book than appreciating the interactions that take place.
Privilege is about context and circumstance
All things considered, ‘Girl, woman, other‘ is a decent read that gives voice to a spectrum of black, British women. For this reason, I tried really hard to love it, but it simply could not satisfy my desire for deeper explorations of the characters and the challenges they face. Perhaps I would have liked it a lot more if there were fewer characters and much less idealistic.
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[…] ‘Queenie’ ultimately explores the downward spiral of a black woman and the beginning of her recovery journey. However, despite the lovely writing style and various themes adding depth to the story, I struggled to connect with Queenie and the storyline. Those who liked this book might enjoy Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. […]