My Dive Into Girl, Woman, Other 

It wasn’t the first co-winner of the Booker (and this is what INFURIATES me more). The last time it happened was in 1992 with Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Unsworth’s Sacred Hunger. It was then WRITTEN as a RULE, that there couldn’t be a co-winner. Also, there were 5 judges. Now, I’m no mathematician but, I know 5 doesn’t divide into 2, so there was IN FACT NO-BLOODY-WAY a draw or a tie! ARGHHHHH

I really liked the after party. I think it was worthwhile just for the teacher/ student moment if nothing else. I do wish the epilogue could have been worked into the book itself. The insertion of it took away from the actual ending and was indeed cheesy. Like you said, Evaristo could have revealed the connection to us without it. I think it would have been more realistic and poignant if they never met. Such a small complaint though, for such a great book. My LGBTQI book club had a great discussion of this book. Unfortunately, no TQI attended. I defer to them on how Evaristo handled that character, but as with all the characters, I feel she was trying to start conversations and show the vast diversity of Black British women's lives. Great review. I knew you'd love this book.

I love everything about this, and Bernardine Evaristo deserves the world, but to call her the first woman of color to win the Booker isn't really true. She's the first black woman to win. Arundhati Roy won with The God of Small Things ages ago. It's all semantics though haha.

First woman of color? How about Arundhati Roy????😢😢😢😢

Interesting interpretation of the end. I really liked this book and gave it 4 stars on GR. For me, the ending wasn't a simplification of the challenges that we face in trying to overcome racism; it's more of a statement on the fact that in spite of differences which can be perceived on the basis of race, the similarities between us all are far greater than such differences.

Outstanding video, Greg. Thanks. I started Girl, Woman, Other earlier this week. Initially, I had problems with the structure and execution of the book, and I didn't think I could get past them. I nearly DNF'ed it. Life is challenging enough right now and I just didn't think I was up for a book presented in this fashion. But, man, am I glad I stuck with it! I'm a quarter of the way through the book and now I can't put it down. When I got to Dominique's section, the book went from zero to one hundred for me. I'm looking forward to finishing it by the end of the month so I can move on to Women in Translation Month. Again, thanks.

I very much appreciate you doing this deep dive into Girl, Woman, Other. I'll admit that when I read this book earlier this year, I wasn't the biggest fan. When you mentioned Homegoing, it reshaped my own thinking about the book because Homegoing is one of those that I read in one sitting and I found an incredibly great portrayal of a family being shaped through the generations. If I look at Girl, Woman, Other under a similar lens then I feel I can get a better sense of what Evaristo might have been trying to do with the text. Similarly, I've heard other reviewers state that the book is stylistically more like a play. The author herself calls it fusion fiction and sometimes I wonder whether my own thoughts as to what constitutes a novel might have caused me to have more of a negative reaction to the book the first time around. I did wonder if the book was attempting to start a conversation about what it means to be a woman in Britain today - saying as there is no one defining characteristic that makes a woman a woman. However, I do think I would have to reread the book to get a better idea. I preferred Mr Loverman when I read it in June, and I feel that gave me a new appreciation for Girl, Woman, Other. This furthered my need to revisit the book because I am still somewhat on the fence about it. I feel like I can appreciate what Evaristo has done, but still have my issues with the book as a whole.

Pass.

That doggy stretch at 1:46 🥰

I loved your thoughts and reading this book with you! 💜

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"Girl, Woman, Other" is nothing but a masterpiece. For all the reasons you mention and even, because its language is so beautifully poetic. Read it loud and just enjoy it like a good wine or whisky or tea or whatever you love to drink. The audiobook is fantastic as well with the amazing reading of Anne-Marie Nabirye.

I really enjoyed your thoughts on this book, so thorough and interesting! I have to admit I didn't really get along with it (sorry!) mainly because I felt that one of the main messages was 'all that woman really want (if they are hetero) is a man'. Personal pet peeve, I know...

Lovely discussion of this brilliant novel, glad you liked it! I think Evaristo’s style is warm and approachable, despite her subject matter planted squarely in culture war terrain, and therefore I can live with a little cheesiness here and there - I think it’s worth it to sugar the pill for more culturally conservative (yet curious) readers. It’s certainly worked - she’s the first black woman British writer to get to no.1 in the paperback fiction charts here. Glad Atwood’s publishers have played nicely and let Girl, Woman, Other get all of the attention so far this year. I think the Booker fiasco has actually worked out to Evaristo’s advantage (something that seemed unlikely at first). Still the Women’s Prize to come, so who knows!

Thank you for the review. I found it a 4 star read for me because I am not a short story reader. I like to know my characters in depth and over a long read. It was different from any book I know and the characters while too briefly known were well drawn. I guessed about Penelope and Hattiesburg straight away. The epilogue to me was not the grand universal statement you spoke of. I felt Evaris shows us that our beliefs can be challenged even changed when we put a face and life into the focus.

Such a great review! How timely for where we are now in trying to open up, listen, and perhaps have a change internally that can be reflected in our own life.

I hated the character of Yaz so much. I felt very meh about the book when I read it, because there were too many overly unlikable, and sometimes it did feel to me that she was trying to include certain characters just to make a point rather than for the character itself. I recognise its value though, and would be interested to read it at some point after the hype is over, because listening to reviews like these makes me think more about it. It definitely is a good starter for conversations.