Bernadine Evaristo

A few months ago a friend of mine recommended a book to me to download and listen to on my audible account. The book was called ‘Mr Loverman’ and was written by an author of the name Bernadine Evaristo and is the story of a suave older gentleman from the carribean who was having a later in life crisis with his wife, daughters and grandson because his true love was his 'best friend' who has been his lover for the past forty years and he couldn't quite bring himself to disclose this to them. I really enjoyed listening to it as it was funny, witty and relatable along with a backdrop of sweet memories of his youthful years on the islands and modern day London life.

More recently I chanced upon a documentary programme which focused on an author who had jointly won the Booker prize in 2019 and her achievements and current projects since and halfway through it clicked to me that it was Bernadine, the same author who had written 'Mr Loverman' (I’ve attached a link for it below). That was it, I was hooked! Her lived experience is as equally interesting and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that her father was Nigerian. A lot of people won't realise this as her surname 'Evaristo' hails from Brazil. A part of Nigerian history that a lot aren't aware of is that there is an area called the 'Brazilian quarter' in Lagos where descendants of slaves stolen from Africa to the Americas were repatriated and settled in Nigeria. I'd heard of this area in Lagos when I lived there but didn't know the history behind it at the time. Anyway, I digress... Back to Bernadine.

I'm now currently listening to Bernadines book 'Girl, Woman, Other' which earned her her Booker Prize and am enjoying it just as much as 'Mr Loverman'. She has also been curating a series of books in a project called  'Black Britain Writing Back' which is republishing books by Black British writers which had been forgotten by their publishing houses. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into these. The link for them is also attached below.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, if you’re looking for some new material to read or listen to, Bernadine is thoroughly recommended by yours truly.

Thank you Bernadine 😊

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/09/booker-winners-mission-to-put-uks-forgotten-black-writers-back-in-print

imagine..., 2021: Bernardine Evaristo: Never Give Up: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000z9bj via @bbciplayer

Bernadine Evaristo. Joint winner of The Booker Prize 2019