Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .’

Girl, Woman, Other is a Booker Prize winning novel written by Bernadine Evaristo featuring twelve principal characters – all of them being Black British women. Each of these characters were connected to the other in some way or the other; inevitable the first two characters in a chapter being a mother-daughter relationship (or the other way round) and the third being a woman closely involved in the lives of one or both of them.

The book features people from different sections of the society – a well to do playwright and her rebellious daughter, an immigrant from Nigeria running a successful business and her daughter who gets admitted to Oxford and is losing her ‘Nigerian identity’, a teacher, a struggling teenage single mother, a self-identified ‘gender free’ character, etc. Through these characters, the author explores multiple themes, patriarchy, privilege, racism, one of intersectionality – wherein some of the characters would often be facing discrimination at three levels, that is, being a woman, being black and also being lesbian.

The book is written in an odd manner, I was initially wondering if there was a mistake in my version of the book or that there was a printing error throughout. The book is in a poetic structure wherein, there are hardly any complete sentences and there are paragraph breaks all the time. However, I got used to it within the first twenty pages and could then enjoy and start appreciating this style of writing.

I liked how each of these characters were connected – which added an inadvertent element of suspense as to at what point is this character going to be connected to an earlier character (or characters). However, the relationship between the characters is not as important as the individuals themselves, as each of them had their own complexities. My favourite section was the chapter involving Bummi (the Nigerian immigrant mentioned earlier) and her daughter Carole, who looked down on most of her classmates and then, the story is presented from the perspective of one such classmate. It gets interesting when each character seems justified while narrating the stories from their perspective.

I was circumspect about the manner in which she conveyed some of her messages, perhaps to engage better with a global audience (for I am sure that the author is more aware of West Africa than I am). This was when she repeatedly used the word Nigerian – like Bummi telling Carole that she must embrace her Nigerian identity and marry only a Nigerian man, which is a very culturally diverse place with ethnicities having of little connection to each other. From their profile, I could infer that Bummi was an Igbo and every time she said ‘Nigerian’, she perhaps meant Igbo or a related ethnic group (and likely not a Hausa or a Fula who are also ‘Nigerians’).

I enjoyed every chapter, but some could feel that there is heavy repetition involved my most of the characters often repeating the same themes of patriarchy or intersectionality. I also felt that there could have been a bit more diversity in the book – with a less privileged White British character. There was a promising conversation between Yazz, the teenage daughter of a playwright and her Cornish friend about a ‘privilege olympics’ and I might have perhaps liked a story dedicated to this friend. But I do appreciate that not all characters were based in London.

On the whole, this book was a great read – was an engaging style of writing for various reasons (be it language or even the structure), the multiple themes that were explored and the engaging characters. On that note, I would award this book an eight on ten.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Our lives are driven by a fact that most of us can't name and don't understand. It defines who our friends and lovers are, which careers we choose, and whether we blush when we're embarrassed.

That fact is whether we're an introvert or an extrovert.

The most fundamental dimension of personality, at least a third of us are introverts, and yet shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as a negative. Some of the world's most talented people are introverts - without them we wouldn't have the Apple computer, the theory of relativity and Van Gogh's sunflowers. In Quiet, Susan Cain shows how society misunderstands and undervalues introverts while giving them the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths.’

What if everyone in the world had the same personality? I believe that would make the human race a lot less interesting, however, our societies do place higher importance on some personality types than others. And one of those misunderstood personalities are those who identify themselves as introverts, considering they are often associated with being sad, cold, depressed, ‘not living their life’, etc. It is possible that introverts might suffer from the above conditions but is not necessarily the norm.  Susan Cain tries to uncover introverts in this book – to put these people out in a world that can’t stop talking.

The book is split into four parts, the first explaining the ‘ideal extrovert’ the society tends to place an emphasis on, the second is the causes of personality types (biology, genetics, etc.), the third part is about how different cultures around the world view personality types (the author assumes that her reader is an American) and finally how to work with the introverted personality type that people have. The book is a mix of science – to what extent are they driven by genetics quoting from various studies and experiments; social norms – how much they influence personality types and also several anecdotes to explain various personal situations one might face (like a workplace situation) or social issues at large – such as the Civil Rights movement in the United States and the 2008 Financial Crisis.

I found the book insightful as well as useful. However, I am unsure as to how much of this is influenced by the fact that I could relate to the book considering I identify myself as one (and that is the assessment I receive from every personality test, including the famous Myers-Briggs test). The book also works on dispelling a lot of myths – that teams by default are more efficient and working alone is to be discouraged, that extroverted managers get the best results, etc. The author also acknowledges at the outset that no individual is a total extrovert, or a complete introvert and people often adapt according to surroundings and thus, has sections on how introverts could get the best out of their personality type given the value placed extraversion.

An issue I had with the book was that the author often indulged in what I would call ‘extrovert bashing’. She tried to not only prove that extraversion does not have any correlation with efficiency, performance, or competence (could have stopped there), but also tried to assert how introverts do most of the tasks better. This seemed to go against the initial premise of the book which emphasised the need on every personality type.

There were a lot of interesting points I noted, and the most interesting one I found was that babies who tend to be highly reactive grow up to be introverts and vice versa (my perception was quite the opposite). Something I would have been interested to know is how much environments and circumstances influence personality types, as I have read articles in reputed magazines such as The Economist which suggest that children from wealthy backgrounds tend to be extroverts as their position in the society gives them the confidence to be outspoken.

To conclude, I would say that this is a good book, and could be insightful especially when someone close such as a partner or a child is of an opposite personality type. On that note, I would rate this book seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Shalimar the Clown by Sir Salman Rushdie – Book Review

 

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Los Angeles, 1991. Maximilian Ophuls is knifed to death on the doorstep of his illegitimate daughter India, slaughtered by his Kashmiri driver, a mysterious figure who calls himself Shalimar the Clown. The dead man is a World War II Resistance hero, a man of formidable intellectual ability and much erotic appeal, a former United States ambassador to India, and subsequently America’s counter-terrorism chief. The murder looks at first like a political assassination but turns out to be passionately personal.

This is the story of Max, his killer, and his daughter – and of a fourth character, the woman who links them all. The story of a deep love gone fatally wrong, destroyed by a shallow affair, it is an epic narrative that moves from California to France, England, and above all, Kashmir: a ruined paradise, not so much lost as smashed.’

Shalimar the Clown is a novel from Salman Rushdie released in late 2000s, featuring four principal characters and a plot based in three different continents. As in most Rushdie novels, there is a story, featuring a particular family, with politics of the places involved in the background.

Coming to the plot – a former American diplomat is killed in the US by his driver. The story then moves back in time to Kashmir, featuring a rural Hindu girl Boonyi who is in love with Abdullah Noman, a Kashmiri Muslim who performs tightrope acts in the village. Despite their religious differences, the village elders are in favour of their marriage, which would also make the statement that they were Kashmiris before their religious identities.

On the other side, there is an ambitious man from Strasbourg, France – Max Ophuls. His tact and seductive skills make him a valuable asset for the French resistance against the Nazi regime during the Second World War. Following the war, he moves to the US and is posted to India as their ambassador, which is where Max’s love affair with Kashmir begins.

The story has four main characters and each of them have a segment named after them. The four are Max, India (Max’s daughter), Boonyi and the title character, Shalimar the Clown. This story moves across timelines and similar to the other Rushdie novels – with multiple complex characters – with some based in the West with ties to South Asia. The author often plays along people having multiple identities and acting accordingly – for instance, Max – a Frenchman from a region which has often shifted between France and Germany, with a British wife, and later becoming a US diplomat.

The political shift and radicalisation that took place in Kashmir was brought out well by the author – where a culture that encouraged an interfaith marriage and participated in social events together regardless of religion; were taken to violence and eventual doom. The effect the conflict had on civilians was brought out well – be it atrocities from the Muslim extremists or Indian army.

An equally interesting character was the title character – Shalimar the Clown, who was content staying in the village who had fallen in love with Boonyi, who had bigger ambitions and did not want to be ‘stuck’ in the same place and was looking for an opportunity to leave. However, the segment with both Shalimar and Boonyi was a tad long – with too many characters being introduced and beyond a point, it became difficult to keep track of them, especially considering that they were important in the subsequent phases.

The author being an atheist himself, did not have second thoughts in bringing out absurdities in religion, where a bit of dark humour was involved when a group of Muslim women pacify an extremist mob by using the religious limitations that the men have.

Without spoilers, I would say that I was not satisfied with the ending of the book. It was not particularly bad, but considering the way that the story was going, it was not quite what I expected.

On a personal level – this story was highly relatable for me, considering I have lived most of my life in India and a substantial portion in France (my current residence), and all the principal characters are from these places, and I really enjoyed the description of the city of Strasbourg, loved it as much as my visit to the city. So, if you could relate with the underlying themes, you could enjoy it better, but regardless, it is a great read.

To conclude – this could be classified as a cliched story involving love, ambition, jealousy and revenge but what makes it special is the narration, and the subtle themes going on in the background. If you have enjoyed other works of Rushdie, this would be an enjoyable read too – I would not place it quite at the level of Midnight’s Children or The Satanic Verses, but a notch below and on that note, I would award this book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy