13. Girl, Woman, Other

Girl, Woman, Other. Bernardine Evaristo. 2019.

I am just not a fan of books that read like independent short stories that then more or less, eventually, come together in unexpected and unforeseen ways at the end.  This, similar to The Overstory that I read last month, does just that.  It feels like a trick to me or like the author is trying to hide the ball too much in hopes of surprising you with how things end up all coming together in the end.  

That said, this book had a lot to love in it.  Most of the stories were really interesting and some were extremely powerful, even though there was never a clear beginning or ending for any of them.  I found the struggle between the generations of feminist/humanist characters to be crafted in a way that gave depth to the second/third/fourth wave feminists conflicts.  I loved one quote from an octogenarian where she talks about "your non-binding people" (referring to non-binary folks) to be part of a sweet scene where the old guard is wanting to turn things over to the new, even while cringing at another second waver insistence that a cis and trans women's experiences are so divergent as to need separate spaces.  She had been such a radical voice decades earlier and yet could not grow and change with the evolving culture.  

Another thing I loved about this book is that it is about radical Black British feminists, a contingent I don't think I have ever read anything about.  The last part includes trans and non-binary voices with characters who are not one-dimensional. The author doesn't shy away from adding depth with characters who make poor life choices, but who are nevertheless presented as whole and complex people.

Recommended, despite the format not being at all my favorite.  

​This was recommended by Gretchen.

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