24 in ’24 Challenge – Book 3 “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernadine Evaristo

I have no idea where or when I acquired my copy of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo but I do know that it has been lurking on my to-be-read pile for quite some time. The point of my 24 in ’24 Challenge was to tackle some of those books which I haven’t got around to reading. I have to say that I was a little wary of this one because it was a Booker Prize Winner and I thought that it might be too literary for my tastes and also because when I looked at the text I noted an almost total lack of punctuation which made me feel uneasy. I am pleased to say that I was completely wrong and I found the book captivating – I even managed to overlook the punctuation issue because the author’s style worked so well.

The book consists of twelve chapters about twelve different characters all of whom are linked in some way to each other. We start with theatre director Amma, a former radical feminist, and her history as she continually challenges the establishment. We then hear from Amma’s daughter Yazz, her former business partner Dominique and then the novel begins to spin out to other characters living in different times, all over the UK and each somehow linked together. The climax of the novel is set at the play’s after show party where we see the majority of the cast together. It’s beautifully crafted and very satisfying to read. I have always enjoyed books where we see things from different points of view.

What makes this book exceptional is its celebration of diversity, not just in terms of ethnicity and gender, but also in the diversity of human experiences, class, sexuality, age and relationships. The importance of the novel is this depiction of individual characters who have individual experiences and world views. It isn’t that the author has created each character to depict a point which she wants to make to the reader but that it feels like she created the characters and their environment and then gave them a voice. I found the story at times funny, sometimes frustrating and often very touching. The ending is very satisfying and ties things up beautifully.

This is a book that talks about discrimination and prejudice but also about courage and knowing your own identity. I thought it was a celebration of women and their experiences, both bad and good. I really enjoyed this book and found it a gripping read.