This novel is the eighth one written by Bernardina Everisto and for which she received the 2019 Booker Prize, shared with Margaret Atwood’s “The Testaments”. Evaristo is a professor of creative writing at Brunel University London. The book follows the lives of twelve black female characters in contemporary London, some of whom interact with each other, but there is no main plotline as such. There is also almost no punctuation in the text.
Most of our group found the book somewhat difficult to get into, at least in part due to the lack of punctuation. There is a lot of emphasis on lesbian relationships, but as the book continues, this aspect becomes less important. The stories of each of these women and the contrasts of their lives, each very different, become more and more interesting as the book goes on.
Most of us found that this description of the twelve different Black women and how their lives intersect in some cases, gave us an insight into many aspects of the reality of what being a Black woman in today’s London means. Some also found that it was easy to get used to the the lack of punctuation, especially when in some instances, the text becomes a sort of poetry.
In general, “Girl, Woman, Other” was considered favorably by the group.
Christine Leroy
January 2022
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