Reading Response 1

The novel Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo focuses on the lives of women of color throughout different generations. What really caught my interest in Chapter 5 was the addition of a man’s (Roland’s) perspective. I think it was important to add his point of view because from an outside perspective he can often be annoying and condescending to the women around him. When someone begins a conversation with him, Roland tends to over-explain and add some kind of history or philosophical lesson to it, which frustrates the people he talks to. However, another main character, Shirley, understands him in a way that no one around him does. Shirley had an encounter with Roland, and after the encounter she realized he was putting on a facade. Roland feels like that people will only respect him if he sounds intelligent and sophisticated. In Roland’s perspective the reader sees how Roland struggles with his identity as an African man and how he’s treated in society. I think that it’s very important that men also have their struggles, especially mentally, which society tends to neglect. At first, I also became annoyed with Roland, his mindset, and how he acts, but once I read further I understood him. I think Evaristo added the perfect amount of male perspective, since the novel is supposed to focus on the lives of women, but she also noted that men struggle too.

Something else that really caught my attention was the Epilogue. I enjoyed learning more about Penelope, a character who didn’t really seem to have a happy ending in her portion of the text. I was emotional in this last portion because she finally found her birth family, which is something she’s always wanted. She also finally found a husband that truly loves her, and her daughter still keeps in contact with her. Originally, Penelope’s story made me sad because she was so close to getting everything she wanted and it all went up in flames. This ending not only was happy, but also ended the novel in a way that tied multiple characters together. The reader sees the importance of the mother/daughter connection and how even when they were separated for eighty years they found their way back to each other.