Bernardine Evaristo Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Bernadine Evaristo is a fiction, poetry, and literature author born in London. She is an Anglo Nigerian Award-winning writer of several books. The novels explore the African diaspora, both present, past, and also imagined. She also writes reviews, drama, short fiction, and writing for BBC studio

Girl, Woman, and Other novels won the Booker Prize in 2019. Evaristo is a professor of Creative writing at Brunel University. London and a vice-chair of the Royal Society of Literature. Being an activist for inclusion, he began several successful initiatives, including the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, which started in 2012, and the Complete Works mentoring scheme for poets of color from 2007-2017. Lastly is Spread the Word writer development agency from 1995.
Girl, Woman, Other

Each chapter of the story follows the life of one of the twelve characters lives as they live. Even though each character is discussed in their chapter set in a particular time, somehow, their lives interlink in more than one way.

It’s the lives and struggles of twelve characters, mostly black and British women, as they narrate the stories about their family, lovers, and friends throughout the country through the years they’ve lived.

The women come from all corners of life, culture, and generations and are all connected to the story’s center.

The first chapter is about Amma, a middle-aged lesbian theatre-maker whose latest play is almost being staged at the National theatre. There is also her daughter Yazz who’s a super annoying undergraduate who likes hanging out with a group of friends who believe that ‘The older generation has ruined everything and their generation has no future unless they get intellectual control from their elders soon.’

The other character is Dominique, Amma’s close friend and collaborator. She is a controlling radical feminist and has been lured into relocating to America. Amma is a good friend with whom she started her theatre company and focuses on the consuming love that turned into an abusive relationship.

The characters overcame traumatic experiences such as depression and rape drug addiction, and they did it through the power of their will. In the case of drug addiction, just sitting at home and having to sweat for a weak healed it all.

Bernardine Evaristo presents the readers with a diverse and broad view of black women’s voices coming from different backgrounds, social class occupations, families, and sexuality. She shares life experiences that trace back a century back in time and move toward the immediate contemporary world.

The characters’ successes, struggles, relationships, failures, and personalities vary. They cross paths in different ways; their stories are employed to contrast female experiences and parallel them while highlighting similarities and unifying factors.

All the women are fighters in their own unique ways despite their varying backgrounds and social status. The author discusses upsetting topics such as abuse, radicalism, drug abuse, gender, and race. The characters are multifaceted and are not always heroes making the best decisions all the time.

While working with the character’s distinctive voices, Evaristo demonstrates that they can work best when brought together. She appreciates diversity while still showing how connections are very crucial.

The best thing about Girl, Woman’s other novel is that it builds women up without tearing men down. Even though there is suffering in the women’s stories, they don’t drag the reader to despair as Evaristo throws in some sense of humor thought out the novel.

The women are of different ages, all caught up in life. Evaristo’s writing style is unique with how the characters cross paths once their stories intersect.
The difficult situation of the refugee and immigrant is highlighted with sadness. One is left to wonder how much is left behind and is it worth how much has been gained so far? Does material wealth equal happiness?

Evaristo shows how even when escaping war-torn countries, the cost of broke families is immeasurable. At first, there are hopes that the next generation will have an easier life and more opportunities. However, they have challenges to overcome, obstacles to pass through, and a different set of issues to deal with.
Evaristo allows the readers to see the dynamics of different constructs of the no more nuclear family. From a single mother, a lesbian mother, a working mother, a traditional father, and a father who had no idea they sired a child.

The novel is amazing and well written with well-thought language so that one doesn’t feel offended by some words. It manages to traverse many aspects of life as one could imagine. The story is more about the women’s voices so that their struggles can be heard and understood deeply.

The characters are fascinating, and you will get engaged from the novel’s beginning to the last page. The story weaves through time and place while maintaining its originality. Girl, Woman, Other is a unique book that combines social history, poetry, and women’s voices.

Mr. Loverman
The novel is the kind that leaves you to wonder why most people prefer to stay in unhappy marriages. Might it be because of children, guilt, religions, shared histories, financial issues, fear, love, or hard habit to break?

However, in the case of Barry and Carmel Walker, it is less of all the things above. Barry is a seventy-four-year-old gay, and his wife doesn’t know about it as she has spent the last fifty years loving him and trying to make him love her back.

Barry is a father, husband, and grandfather, and for the past sixty years, he has been in a relationship with longtime friend Morris. Carmel is aware that he has been cheating on her, but she doesn’t know what’s going on. When their marriage hits the rocks, Barry has choices to make.

Barry only cares about his wealth, routines, custom-made suits, and his sex life with men. He doesn’t think about his wife back at home like a houseplant; he has kept her in the shadows without getting any attention.

The author shows how Barry in Antigua had no choice of being gay yet couldn’t marry his true love, Morris. She shows a religiously devoted wife, Carmel married to an atheist and gay husband. Carmel shows the best part of practicing religion as it’s her Christianity that keeps him moving by restoring her and offering salvation.

Barry decides to leave his wife, whom he has been married to for 50 years, for his lover Morris. He is an interesting character and a heavy drinker with some old-fashioned views but has a lot of wisdom.

Mr. Loverman is a heart-pounding exploration of the Caribbean community, which shows the cultural myths while highlighting how deep and far consequences of prejudice can be.