I asked for an ecopy of this book even though I'd already bought and read the hardback. I loved this book so much I want to be able to carry it with me and/or reread it when my hard copy is loaned out. It is so hard to describe this book in a way that does it justice. I savored each woman's story by reading one per day. Each story is about so much more than the titled person. It is really more about the people in her life. Each character is so well-drawn I came away feeling like I knew them. I don't reread many books, but this one I will read again and again.

A beautiful book. The stories flow and weave around each other to complete a finished product. I usually never read books like this but I’m glad I discovered it!

Twelve characters, primarily women, primarily black, of all ages and at various stages of life from childhood to old age, all strong-minded – and unusually all of equal value as protagonists in this panoramic exploration of Black British womanhood. We see them from the outside, often through the eyes of the other characters, and we see them from the inside as they tell their own stories. All have a chance to tell those stories, and they all feature in each other’s narratives. It’s an ambitious and complex novel, but Evaristo expertly holds all the threads together and I found it an absorbing and compelling read. Race, identity, heritage, feminism, sexuality – many themes, many perspectives. The novel is in essence a series of interconnected stories that all come together in a satisfying whole, a thoughtful and insightful novel about what it means to be black, British and female. Highly recommended.