Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

*Girl, Woman, Other* follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.

Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.

I love when I come across a book that thwarts my expectation of fiction. This book paints portraits of twelve Black women in verse as opposed to prose, often forgoing punctuation and capitals such that there's an openness and fluidity to the narrative that is special to read. I also love how human the characters are, experiencing everyday struggles and major crises and despair – but each tale manages to end optimistically. Not in a happily-ever-after way, but in a it-will-be-okay kind of way. I don't know how to explain it other than both it's challenging and comforting and a different kind of experience to read.

One sentence synopsis... A sweeping history of twelve British women of colour - all a few degrees separated from each other.

Read it if you like... contemporary British culture. This book touches on Brexit, intersectionality, identity, Twitter, feminism, and more. It's a richly textured social novel and also a compulsive page-turner.

Dream casting... the rights to turn it into a limited series have already been snatched up but fingers crossed Michaela Coel gets involved in any capacity.

My favorite chapters were Amma, Bummi, and Hattie. I HATED the Yazz chapter, just a completely off-putting person (maybe all 19 year olds are unlikeable, hard to say). The After Party chapter was a bit disappointing, it felt disjointed and why are we getting in the head of a man for page-upon-page all of a sudden? I thought the Epilogue more than made up for it, though.

I want to read it again. It's hard to articulate the impression this book has left with me. All stories are so unique yet intertwined, the characters are so alive yet ordinary yet extraordinary. I highly recommend it!