Book 77 - Bernadine Evaristo "Manifesto"

[jazzy_dave]

Bernadine Evaristo "Manifesto On Never Giving Up" (Penguin)







I was happy to pick this up and was pleased that it was less of an actual manifesto and more of a memoir of her life, experiences, professional work, etc.

I knew some of the basics of Evaristo's life, but the first two chapters in particular were really interesting as she talks about her family, background, ancestors, etc. What it was like growing up among a mostly white neighborhood, the experiences of racism, misogyny, misogynoir, etc. How her White mother had been on an upward track of mobility, only to see that dashed because she married a Nigerian man. To see and read about how this was an issue then (and still is today sadly) was interesting and painful.

We also read more about Evaristo's professional career, her love life (including her experiences with everything ranging from domestic violence to navigating her sexuality and her partners, etc.).
I would say overall I found her personal experiences far more interesting and informative than her overview of her professional career (although to be fair I didn't know much about her other works so it was still good to know if not for me). Also be warned that this does deal with many heavy issues as mentioned above as well as sexual abuse, child abandonment, divorce, etc. It isn't heavily detailed but it is part of her experience and so it's not something that can really be avoided (ie specific pages) in the text.

I was glad to pick this up. I did enjoy reading her "voice" in the text and will be on the lookout for future works by her or any of her backlist that might catch my interest.