Bernardine Evaristo

On the face of it, we shouldn't feel much sympathy for Barry, the main narrator of this book: he's a closeted gay man who, at the age of seventy-five, still hasn't screwed up his courage to admit to his wife and daughters that he's been sleeping with his best friend, Morris, since they were boys at school together in Antigua more than sixty years ago. Not to mention a long history of casual pick-ups, and cruising the local cemetery back in the day. His chronic deception has led to show more unhappiness for everyone around him, including himself much of the time, and he's at least dimly aware of that, but he's old and male and stubborn, and he's internalised the homophobia he grew up with, so there's no obvious road out.

But this is — in an odd kind of way — a romantic comedy, and Evaristo cunningly manages to make Barry funny and engaging enough as a narrator to get us on his side (at least for the purposes of the story). We don't necessarily approve of the way he got himself into this bind, but we do sympathise with his efforts to get out of it, and with the often comic difficulties he encounters along the way. It helps, too, that Evaristo switches the narration to Carmel's point of view a couple of times, just to remind us that Barry is an unreliable narrator, and he isn't quite as much in control of the story as he thinks he is.

But perhaps what this is really about is Barry's rich, complex use of language: the man who has grown up ambidextrous in patois and Standard English, has picked up London-West-Indian along the way, and done his evening classes on Shakespeare and psychology and all the rest of it. Evaristo has endless fun with his voice, and of course it works brilliantly as an audiobook. (Except that the narrator has an irritating way of dropping into a dramatic whisper at exactly the point when you're listening out on the street and someone comes past on a moped...). show less

The twelve women whose lives constitute the foci, separately, of this novel in parts are all impressive in their own ways. Inevitably some of their stories resonate more than others, or perhaps are written with more passion or empathy. Certainly the central figure, Amma, whose debut play at the National Theatre is the tent peg around which the stories are draped, is a force. Her personality shines whereas some of the latter stories seem almost sketches. Each of their tales concerns what it show more means to be a woman, typically fracturing along lines of gender identity, race, or political persuasion. The upshot being that there are many possibilities, possibly as many as there are women.

Along with captivating stories of sometimes captivating women, Evaristo sets herself the task of connecting each of them, not necessarily to all of the others, but to enough to form a weave. It’s a structure that has risks since at some point the connection will tend to feel forced, even potentially mawkish. Nevertheless, there is an earnestness in the telling that carries the reader through. And even if none of these women might be exemplars, most, if not all, are certainly memorable.

Neither the formal structure nor the conceit of connectedness are especially original. And yet this novel feels very fresh, almost challenging. Why? I think it’s because Evaristo writes with the assurance of a mature author in full command of her talents. She knows that it is the larger canvas that she wishes to convey, and that any flaws or limitations in the stitching will be nearly imperceptible and in any case forgiven when one stands far enough back in order to take in the whole. Which is a form of writerly wisdom.

I really like Evaristo’s voice and look forward to reading the rest of her oeuvre.

Gently recommended. show less

I loved the writing style! It is conversational and so real. It gets deep into characters' feelings without ever being flowery or overly descriptive.

This book is written as a collection of linked stories. Each provides a portrait of a woman, and these 12 women are connected. Some deeply, others peripherally. They are of different classes and backgrounds, different sexual orientations but all face discrimination and all cope with the challenges life gives them.

When I first heard about this show more book, I thought that I, as a straight white woman would find it hard to relate to the characters. Then I thought that maybe that was the very reason I should read it. To gain perspective. So glad I came to my senses.

I have to admit that, by the final chapter when most of the women are together, I sometimes found myself unsure as to who was the one whose husband cheater on her or the one whose kids moved away....But I didn't really mind a bit of flipping back. It was worth it! Such a great book. show less

I hardly know what to say about this wonderful book. Mostly, I just want to say "Read it". This book co-won the Booker Prize in 2019 along with Margaret Atwood's The Testaments. Having read The Testaments I was curious to see what this book was like although I doubted if it could be as good as Atwood's follow-up to The Handmaid's Tale. I was wrong. It is every bit as interesting, well-written and illuminating as The Testaments.

Evaristo, daughter of a black Nigerian father and a white British show more mother, certainly knows the challenges black women face. She shows us the lives of 12 different women living in Britain from the late 1800s and on into the present. Many of them, like herself, had one black parent and one white parent. Many live in London but others lived in rural areas of Northern England. Evaristo first introduces us to Amma, a playwright and theatre producer, who finally has a play being performed at the National Theatre when she is in her 50s. Amma is a lesbian with a considerable array of former lovers and at least two current girlfriends. She is the mother of Yazz who is now attending university who was fathered by a gay male friend. Amma is sort of the linchpin that connects all the rest of the women in the book. We meet her daughter, her best friend, a childhood friend who is now a teacher, the friend of that childhood friend who is also a teacher, a student of that childhood friend and so on. After meeting and learning about the lives of these other eleven women (pay attention when reading about their lives because they do reappear) we return to the aftershow party at the National Theatre where Amma's play has been given rave reviews. It's a triumph and a vindication for Amma. Most of the attendees are thrilled for her but some experience more problematic emotions. Amma's success makes them wonder about their own lives.

Evaristo was recently interviewed by Eleanor Wachtel on CBC Radio's Writers and Company. Wachtel asked lots of personal questions which Evaristo answered quite candidly and at the end Evaristo said she had enjoyed the interview because Wachtel asked lots of questions that made her really think about her motives in writing this book. I think there is a lot of Evaristo in this book which perhaps is what makes it so brilliant. show less