Girl, Woman, Other: The Ultimate Experience

I finally finished Girl, Woman, Other and I do not think I have read a book so intricately woven, so compelling, so relatable. How do you tell a tale about 12 women who come from different worlds, yet somehow find themselves connected by friendship, family, or some other bond? You create their chapters. One chapter for each woman, because one woman's tale is too full, too complete to be shared with another.

One of my favourite things about this book is how in every chapter, another woman is subtly mentioned, hardly paid any attention to. But wait a little, and you'll find her in her own story- from minor character to protagonist. I loved how every woman's story was important, every woman's story was rich, compelling.

The ultimate womanly experience is captured in this work, and maybe that's what makes it so irresistible. From Amma, the black lesbian woman, whose art is her life, to her daughter, woke and enlightened, always seeking ways to learn, to grow, to explore. And there's Dominique, Carole, Bummi, La'Tisha, Shirley, Winsome, Penelope, Megan/Morgan, Hattie, and Grace.

The twists, the themes of struggle, of love, of identity, of race, of sex, of gender, the language, the dialogue, the absolute abandonment of punctuations, perhaps another subtle rebellion, all of these made this such an amazing read for me.

Of course, there's so much more to be said, but Bernardine Evaristo, through her characters, has said it all. In the end, a woman is who she chooses to be, who she calls herself, who she makes herself. She calls herself by her name, and the world follows suit.