Is it hard to read?
Somewhat. Line breaks and sparse punctuation resemble poetry, and the narration moves among twelve characters. The voice is conversational, though following the intersecting lives across generations takes some attention.
Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction
Girl, Woman, Other
Highly regardedBooker Prize, 2019Reading facts
✓ Checked- Reading effort
- 51 / 100Moderate
- Length
- 464 pagesBlack Cat · 2019
- Reading time
- 9 h 15 minat 50 pages an hour ·
- Pace
- Measured
- Emotional intensity
- 4 / 5
About 9 h 15 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 19 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
Amma, a Black lesbian playwright, is preparing for her play to open at London's National Theatre after decades outside the mainstream. Her daughter Yazz questions her feminism, while her old friend Shirley has become weary of teaching. Their stories connect with those of investment banker Carole and her Nigerian mother Bummi, a cleaner. Across twelve characters, mostly Black British women, the novel traces how work, family and belonging look different across generations.
Reader notes
Funny, frank and conversational, the narration gives each character a turn, using line breaks and sparse punctuation that resemble poetry. The structure follows intersecting lives across generations instead of one continuous plot. Sexual assault and abusive relationships are serious subjects beneath the humor.
How it reads
- Writing style
- Experimental · Fragmentary · Lyrical
- Tone
- Hopeful · Humorous · Reflective · Warm
- Structure
- Braided
- Driven by
- Character · Ideas · Relationships
- Point of view
- Multiple viewpoints
- Setting
- Britain · London · United States
Reading complexity
- Writing
- 3 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 4 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Themes
- Belonging
- Family
- Gender
- Identity
- Race and racism
- Sexuality
Content notes
- Violence
- Strong
- Sexual content
- Strong
- Swearing
- Strong
- Substance use
- Mild
- Abuse
- Strong
- Self-harm or suicide
- Mild
Standing and awards
Highly regarded
- Booker Prize, 2019
- International Dublin Literary Award shortlist, 2021
- Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist, 2020
Questions readers ask
Does it follow one continuous plot?
No. The structure follows intersecting lives across generations, giving each character a turn. The measured pace leaves room for work, family and relationships rather than keeping attention on a single storyline.
What difficult subjects should I expect?
Sexual assault and abusive relationships are serious subjects beneath the humor. There is also strong violence, sexual content and strong language, despite the warm, often funny narration.
How does it explore identity and belonging?
Through twelve characters, mostly Black British women, whose experiences of work and family differ across generations. Amma and her daughter Yazz disagree over feminism, while Carole and her Nigerian mother Bummi bring investment banking and cleaning into the same family story.
How long is it?
464 pages in the Black Cat 2019 trade paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Black Cat · 2019 · Trade Paperback. ISBN 9780802156983.
How long does it take to read Girl, Woman, Other?
About 9 hours 15 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 464-page Black Cat edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Bernardine Evaristo
Bernardine Evaristo is an English author and creative-writing professor whose fiction and verse fiction explore the African diaspora through experiments in form and perspective. She moves readily among novels, poetry, drama, essays, and work for stage and radio. Girl, Woman, Other builds its portrait of Britain from twelve interconnected lives, shifting among Black British women of different generations in lyrical, fragmentary prose rather than centering a single protagonist. The verse novel The Emperor’s Babe places a Black teenage girl of Nubian parentage in Roman London, using an unexpected historical setting for a coming-of-age story. Her editorial work also extends this attention to Black British writing by returning neglected books to print.
If you liked this
Edition and details
- Publisher
- Black Cat
- Publication year
- 2019
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 464
- ISBN
- 9780802156983
- Edition language
- English
- Original language
- English
- First published
- 2019
- Genres and form
- Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction · Contemporary literary · Family saga · Social novel
- Editions
- 12
- Languages
- 2 (English, Unspecified)