Beautiful, Tragic, Challenging

My experience of this book is definitely influenced by being a Queer transfem and my significant neurodivergences.

I simply adore these tales told by the protagonist in the conversational manner that work so well with narration and the story told of an Antiguan gay man in London in the 80s is incredibly refreshing and an important perspective to see.

This story has so very much in ups and downs and emotional and frustrating moments with a difficult protagonist who I can't help feeling a serious ambivalence for. The internalised and reactionary Queer and transphobia expressed was hard to hear, along with the powerful misogyny and capitalist perspective. Barry is a complex and fascinating character that has had an interesting and difficult life who I truly wish well, but I don't actually like. This is what I mean by challenging. He's a brilliant character, but a difficult one.

There is so much wonderful in the writing and performance of this story, but there are a just a few little aspects that don't feel real within the story and some questionable and identical voices for younger and feminine characters that just take the edge from this being five stars for me, but it is a very high four for me for sure and I absolutely recommend. ( )

We get married most often when we don't yet know how to judge people; it's our hormones calling to each other. So, often it ends badly, especially if there are offspring. Domestic violence, traumatized children, yea, pain lasting a lifetime.
LGBTQIA had a bigger problem in the past with relationships because of prejudice and discrimination against them, so I can hardly blame them for wanting to have a "cover," a het marriage or relationship. It's complicated further by humans who buy the religion scam: "the bible forbids it," isn't it?
This is what happens in this book that takes place in Antigua and London. Barry married a young woman who he can never love, and she condemns herself to a lifetime of not being loved, because she refuses to divorce him. ( )

https://shawjonathan.com/2021/12/27/bernadine-evaristos-mr-loverman/ ( )

Barrington Jedidiah Walker Esq is a self-educated, sometimes self-deceiving dandy of 74. He is, however, truly in love – not with his wife of 50 years, Carmel, but with his gay lover, Morris Courtney de la Roux. Their first tryst was a lifetime ago when they were both boys in Antigua, and their love affair has swung on through the decades of their adult life in London. Mr Loverman is the story of their switchback ride towards full disclosure. ( )

This is an unsuual book. Barry is in his 70s, from Antigua, living in London, married to Carmel and with 2 grown up children. And the love of is life is Morris. And has been since they were youngsters. Barry is a very dapper, intellectually curious man and he is a most appealing narrator. His chapters were told in the present, with reviews of past incidents. Carmel is a far more opaque character. We see her mainly through other people. The chapters she narrates are in the past and are written in a stream of concious manner - no punctuation no full sentences. She is far harder to warm to. The family are reasonabvly well presented, you get a feel for them as individuals as well as their dynamic.
There's a curious diachotomy in here, in that while Barry wants to be accepted for who he is, he also has rather dated attitudes to gender and the role of women in life and society. It makes for an odd mixture and I never quite got my head around it.
I'm also not entirely convinved by the utterly complete character change Carmel undergoes. It just didn't feel believable. ( )