I can see why this is a Booker prize winner,beautifully rhythmic writing that flows well. It is almost a series of essays /short stories about a seemingly disparate group of twelve characters but all is cleverly woven together.
An engrossing enjoyable read.

In just 352 pages and through the lens of 12 variously-interlinked characters (11 black women and 1 non-binary), Bernadine Evaristo creates a rich tapestry of Britain using prose that is half poetry, half verse (described by the author herself as ‘fusion fiction’) and unfailingly striking. The characters, diverse in age, background and experience, are grouped into sets of three with close links existing between those within a set and looser associations eventually uniting the full cast in a way that is utterly pleasing.

Themes of race, class, privilege, sexuality and gender are currents that underlie the overall narrative but the characters never feel like simple vessels through which Evaristo delivers her personal views. I love the way in which the generational gaps between characters prompts you to think about the way in which ideologies change, evolve or indeed remain the same over time. This book is an invitation to consider, question and challenge and the characters are vibrant and full of life, sometimes endearing, sometimes frustrating and captivatingly flawed.

Most impressively for me, as someone who reads a lot of split-narrative fiction, is the way in which Evaristo has managed to create twelve unique voices (that actually feel distinct from one another) and to make us feel invested in twelve individuals stories within blocks of just forty or so pages. There were definitely parts I became more invested in than others, but there was not a single perspective that I felt myself inclined to skim through.

GWO paints a portrait of Britain we don’t often see in fiction and I loved every second of it.

I approached this book with a little trepidation. Booker prize winners are not always my thing. Too often self consciously literary with characters that are hard to relate to and non existent plots, I have often been disappointed in them. But I had nothing to fear. This book is amazing. I loved it and it's perhaps gone in to my top ten books of all time. The narrative is unconventional. It would perhaps be best described as linked short stories (think Olive, Again) rather than a novel. Here we get twelve characters, mostly women of colour, and a piercing glimpse into their lives. They are a diverse set of women: young, old, straight, non-binary, gay, educated, rich, poor. What is remarkable is that whether you like them or not (and they are portrayed with all of their faults) you do end up empathising with them. As with all the best characters you feel as if you actually know them, as though their lives are carrying on independently of the fiction in which they were created. This is a fabulous book. I can't recommend it highly enough. Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC.

I knew I wanted to read this book when I heard the author read an extract on The Big Scottish Book Club. I could have listened to her talk for hours and was immediately pulled into the story. I was delighted to be approved for a copy on #NetGalley and the book deserves to be a join winner of the Man Booker Prize. The novel is structured in a version of stream-of-consciousness which took a few pages to get used to. The story flows so well and I loved the little connections and links between the twelve women whose stories the book explores. The book is also a very rich and detailed look into Black History in Britain, something I’ve not had any real exposure to. I loved the attention to detail. I loved the way the book explores the relationship between the 12 women, with their family and friends as well as the world’s they inhabit. The book is celebration of women of different ages and sexuality and different periods in time. I thought it was amazing.

Believe the hype. It’s a wonderful book, enjoyable even for those who might be put off by its slightly experimental style. I raced through it.

I suppose no one needs another review of the Booker Prize winning Girl,Woman, Other, but if you need a nudge to read it, let me confirm that it is absolutely as brilliant as everyone is saying. Girl, Woman, Other is a truly special book, and for once I didn't race through it. Even more unusually for me, I read other books between the three sections in not only to stretch it out longer, but so that I could be sure I was appreciating it properly.

The novel is narrated by a host of characters, mostly women, mostly non white, as well as non binary characters, living in England today. Through the eyes of these women we see how gender, sexuality, race and class intersect, as the lives of the characters become involved and related in often surprising ways, set against the backdrop of Brexit being constantly discussed, negotiated, and meaning worse and worse things for real people's lives. The book is particularly strong on how liberal or radical movements change over time and from generation to generation, and with respect to the part of the story about non binary characters, how infighting among communities who are seeking the same end goal brings the whole movement back. I also really enjoyed the accounts of 'radical' feminist and lesbian movements in the 1980s, 90s and beyond, and how the daughter of one of the characters who is celebrated and respected is embarrassed and believes her feminism to be much more advanced.

It feels like Evarnesto is building block by block with each character, until you are left with an incredible, wide ranging story that unites different, outcast or othered voices to give a human, moving and galvanising account of lives that deserve to be seen, considered and heard instead of being continuously margianalised. When I finished the book I realised that I hadn't been transported to another world but instead that I was finally seeing the world around me much more clearly.

Joint winner of the Booker, and deservedly so. A book of many voices, with intertwined stories. Uncomfortable to read in places (but I think that says more about me and my privilege?) but I’m so glad I did.

Certainly lived up to all the hype for me. A sensational read and one that every woman should read. It follows the lives of 12 women in Britain finding their way through life, the ups and downs, joys and disappointments . Key issues such as race, identity and feminism are at the foremost which doesn't make it the easiest read at times but keeps you engaged all the same. This book will be talked about for years to come and is an education as well as a pleasurable read.
Thank you netgally for this e copy.

Beautifully written book that definitely lives up to its hype. Absolutely loved this tale of 12 women finding their way. Although I've read this book on my kindle I'm going to buy a copy of this book as it's one that I will revisit.

But safe on the shelf other things (books) seemed to get in the way. Finally I settled to it and what a read. I agree with the judges this surely is one of the finest novels this year, but it is so much more. It is a novel about women, women getting on with their lives, supporting their families and friends regardless of the difficulties, in a world where life is not fair and they do not make the rules. But the characters feel real, the story telling is assured and this is a compelling read – although occasionally it might take you close to uncomfortable places in your own past. But for Londoners there will an extra dimension – the city, evolving, with all its good things and gremlins is a major character too.
The simple basics are that Amma Bansu, Londoner, has finally “made it” as a writer and her feminist play on “The Last Amazon of Dahomey” will be produced in a major London theatre and ultimately, in spite of her insecurities and worries, to great acclaim. Her writing has finally reached “its time” and moved across from fringe to mainstream. Family, friends and acquaintances will gather for the first night. The reader will have previously been introduced to Amma, best friend Dominique who now lives in the US, daughter Yazz (plus her best friends at university) ex lovers, partners and associates. Through these collective tales we see Amma growing from an ambitious teenager into her fifties. A woman living her life “politically” through her creative works as both a person of colour and as a black feminist. But gradually, too, a picture will be built of the life stories of the women she has associated with or can be linked to indirectly. Life choices or opportunities are not the same for all as we rarely start from the same place.
The backdrop to the tales will be London life – the evolving place and diversity of people primarily the wide range of immigrants who will arrive, compromise, settle and build their families here. There will be the pressure (and expense) of big city life, financial restrictions if not poverty itself, often lacking deep community support and watching your children grow through a different experience. Amma and friend Dominique try to live their lives to their political beliefs and ultimately will grow physically apart due to life’s pragmatic choices. Amma will choose motherhood and her daughter will grow to reject her mother’s core beliefs and values (while expecting them to operate automatically for herself - yes realistically tiresome)
Evaristo’s skill lies in creating a series of vignettes of different women and making them all seem so real. So real that you recognise them, seeing the habits, conversations, tics and annoying behaviour of people you have known – tripping both memories and the instinctive need to talk back to the characters. She skewers the current time with its political, social and cultural tropes and anxieties. But also cleverly recreates dialogues or concerns of maybe thirty years ago as if they were current, so the routes to now are laid bare.
By showing the women across the generations – from young Yazz (whatever she might think) largely oblivious to what has gone before and with the impatience of her generation - to Amma and back through her to the women a generation older she shows not just how individuals develop, but also how the cultural “norms” continue to evolve and change; never forgetting how far people who might seem static or retrograde now have travelled already and at what personal cost.
The past is shown to very clearly be the foundations of her characters’ present – even if the younger ones do not recognise this – and that the future will be different so characters (as models of real people) will have to change. The tale is therefore not just a story, but it is a challenge to readers to think about where they are, how they got there and whether they will try and affect their future in greater or lesser ways, or just let it evolve and cope with it.

Just lovely- a stroll through the lives of 12 women and girls as they make their way through life .

A feminist handbook as it looks closely at the lives of very different characters who share a gender and a country

Interesting and complex and well worth reading

I loved the interconnectivity between the 12 women (girls and others)'s stories throughout the book, with voices fighting to be heard, understood or at the very least respected.
In many ways it is a gentle read, strolling through the lives of the characters, taking diversions from their original paths and becoming stronger as a result however with so many hard hitting experiences and moments of fear, anguish and despair it is deceiving in its gentleness!
A fascinating insight into many aspects of life for the women portrayed.
The one downside for me was the complete lack of punctuation- it disrupted the flow for me and I found parts had to be re-read to really understand whose voice you were reading.

Margaret Atwood’s book was never going to be short of attention but winning the Booker will bring thousands of new readers to this absolute gem. Girl, Women, Other is an achingly relevant and much-needed insight into contemporary Britain.

Bernardine’s book is collection of reflections on life – its trials and tribulations, its joys and disappointments – by a number of “girls, women, others” whose lives are interconnected by the opening of a new play about Black women in London’s National Theatre.

The writer of that play, Amma, is a black lesbian socialist playwright who is reflecting on what drove her to write her play, what she wanted to convey, and those experiences that shaped her outlook. From here, the connections trickle out across the, mostly, Black woman whose lives have impacted her and her daughter.

Race, gender, identity and the lived experience are all key themes, as is feminism, clearly. This is a book that grapples with big questions such as, what would a completely feminist life look like in a patriarchal society? What expectations does white society, and white feminism, place on Black women? What is privilege and how does it manifest and fluctuate? What does liberation look and feel like?

What’s interesting to me is how some criticisms of the work have focused on the lack of overarching storyline. In fact, it astounds me as this is exactly the point Bernardine is making. There is no single experience that can be defined as “the gay experience”, “the Black experience”, “the poor experience.” It’s all so much more complex than that; we are all full of complexities and contradictions. But it is empathy and understanding that will bring us together; that is the message of this book that radiates with life.

Flawless, just flawless.

It's hard to find words, that have not been used, praise that has not been uttered, for this incredible book. Original and compelling, it deserves all the awards and more. Absolutely exceptional.

Although British literature is deemed to be historically London-centric, it's not often that I read MY London in print. This is only the second time I have seen Stockwell on the pages of a novel and it is so affirming. If PATSY reflected my Jamaican family and QUEENIE showed me my peers, GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER presents the Black British womxn who are and have been around me: the LaTishas & Morgans I went to school with, the Bummis in my childhood church, the Penelopes in the office. At first, I thought Amma, with her bangles and locs, was my mum but that was quickly dissolved. She revealed herself to be Araba, my mum's best friend in the primary school playground, mother of Kofi, absolute badgyal.

Before reading GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER myself I saw friends try to pick a favourite tale. Dominique's story of manipulation and regeneration; Yazz's story, a nuanced reevaluation of "privilege"; Winsome's story - DRAMA (I will always back a Winsome but, whew)! The web of Carole, LaTisha and Shirley's stories were the narratives that initially intrigued me the most as a teacher, suggesting the extent to which education system serves and hinders Black children; the multiple roles of teachers and whether Black teachers have an additional responsibility in the classroom; the idealism of youth and the jadedness of age; why we teach and what we expect in return.

This novel isn't "preachy" or didactic in tone, but there is a lot to learn. None of the characters, whether the radical feminists or the 'badass' humanist students, are exempt from critique but none are condemned, which encourages the reader to listen to the womxn and consider their perspectives fully, without prejudice. The intricate tapestry of stories Bernardine weaves here also forgregrounds the importance of perspective - how mothers and daughters view the same event differently, the power of telling your own story and, perhaps, the creative power others have when they translate what we choose not to share: Bummi's interpretation of 13 year old Carole's 'sulky period', Shirley's assessment of Dominique being taken 'down a peg or two' in America.

In the most loving way, this novel is a reminder to respect your elders, to understand the legacy of Black British feminist activism and acknowldge our way pavers. However, the fusion fiction format that moves seamlessly from past to present, womxn to womxn uplifts the present and future of Black British womanhood, underscoring that 'this is about being / together.'

Where to begin? Sensational!, a revaluation, an education! By far the most unusual book I have ever read! However, not written for Kindle readers as I was forever having to try and remember who was who, who was related to who and what sex they were? I found the constant change of tense and person unnecessary and irritating but that apart, a compelling story with utterly believable twenty first century characters culminating in a gentle but convincing and rather lovely conclusion! A book I have already recommended to several female friends!

I felt I should perservere and finish this Booker Prize winner - but after 60 pages I gave up. The lack of punctuation just annoyed me and I lost track of who was who. Really wanted to love this but will stick with Margaret Atwood

Matches up to all the hype and more. Enchanting, absorbing. I loved every second of it and will be reading Evaristo’s previous books now. I can see this being one of the best books of the decade.

Totally draw in to the world of Evaristo's 12 characters. Initially I thought the story would unfold only around Amma and Yazz, how wrong I was... Mother, best friend, school teacher and more are all linked in, creating a wide reaching story of female power, human fragility, love and race. Its a book very much of our time, with gender neutrality and non-traditional relationships explored, but covers the history of how we reached this (still not ideal) point of understanding and acceptance

One of the best books I’ve read in the past year. Vivid characters, compelling stories, masterfully told.