Girl, Woman, Other

By: Bernardine Evaristo

Narrated by: Anna-Maria Nabirye

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of Britain's most celebrated writers of color, Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of black British women. Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and short-listed for the Gordon Burn Prize, Girl, Woman, Other paints a vivid portrait of the state of post-Brexit Britain, as well as looking back to the legacy of Britain's colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.

The 12 central characters of this multi-voiced novel lead vastly different lives: Amma is a newly acclaimed playwright whose work often explores her black lesbian identity; her old friend, Shirley, is a teacher, jaded after decades of work in London's funding-deprived schools; Carole, one of Shirley's former students, is a successful investment banker; Carole's mother, Bummi, works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter's lack of rootedness despite her obvious achievements. From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm in Northern England, these unforgettable characters also intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class.

Sparklingly witty and filled with emotion, centering voices we often see othered, and written in an innovative fast-moving form that borrows technique from poetry, Girl, Woman, Other is a polyphonic and richly textured social novel that shows a side of Britain we rarely see, one that reminds us of all that connects us to our neighbors, even in times when we are encouraged to be split apart.

©2019 Bernardine Evaristo (P)2019 by Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

"Narrator Anna-Maria Nabirye's warm, rhythmic voice embraces listeners from the first rush of words in this Booker Award-winning kaleidoscope of a novel.... Funny, sad, gripping, thought-provoking stories told with pacing and characterizations you'll long remember." (AudioFile Magazine)

The best novel you will listen to this year

This was exceptional. I was transfixed throughout the whole book and wanted it to keep going and going and hear more stories about these women. The writing is just wonderful and the interlacing stories are captivating. It thoroughly deserved to win the Booker Prize and I will come back and re-listen to this again in the future. My dog got some extra long walks as I just wanted to keep listening. I have read or listened to 53 books so far this year and this is the best of them all.

Intersection

The first thing I'd like readers to know is that this novel is more a series of interconnected novellas than a traditional novel. It has scope, sweeping us from the London of artsy squats to the modern suburbs. And it each story features a woman we can identify with from lesbian-feminist-theatre directors to school teachers who's fires are now burning low. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A. Must. Read.

So great!!!!
The themes explored are so deep and meaningful. It's a book no one should miss.

Excellent!

Beautiful writing, complex characters, interesting stories, surprises, humor, seriousness. I enjoyed the narrators interpretation, especially of the teen phases in character's lives!

Wow what a story

This book is very very good. I did need to find a character spreadsheet and map online to follow along. Here is someone’s map: https://mobile.twitter.com/bernardineevari/status/1208313873473966081

Strong Women, Defined

The author rightly controls point of view even as she moves between characters. It’s a loving portrayal of women of all sorts.

WOW!

This story is extremely interesting, informational, and intricate! The author has done a excellent job of both creating fascinating characters and telling a excellent current-day story! The narrator is AWESOME; well-spoken, character accents are spot-on and feelings appropriately expressed! BRAVO!👏🏾To this intelligent collaboration!

Beautiful

I loved this book so much. I cried when it ended - the character development and intersections were so compelling. I didn’t want it to end. I loved the storylines, the characters, the writing and the narration. I feel like I’ve never encountered a book quite like this one. One of my top 10 books ever read.

Excellent!

Great storytelling. Masterful weaving of stories and characters. Highly recommend. Listened to it more than once.

LOVED IT!

This book was fantastic. I love a good short story and this book delivered several of them. I think this will be in my list of top reads this year. I will most likely be buying a physical copy to put on my bookshelf. Superb writing great narration 5 stars all around.
** one bit of advice I would give to prospective readers of this book is to either go online and find a list of each character of write down the names of each character and their connections as you go along. There are 12 main characters and they are all connected. It’ll help you keep up with them better as you go along!!