Most of my close friends and family will know how much I enjoyed Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 novel, Girl, Women, Other, as I pretty much recommended it to anyone that would listen to me.
So I was excited when my parents gave me a set of Bernardine’s older, lesser known works, with the new pretty covers. I decided to start with Mr Loverman.
Getting it Published…
Bernardine Evaristo has actually recently spoken about the challenges she faced trying to publishing this book back in 2013. In a report she forwarded about ‘Diversity in Publishing’ she writes; ‘I was told that my 2013 novel, Mr Loverman, was negatively considered by some in the industry as triple niche because it was about an older, gay, black man. What were they saying? That whiteness reigns supreme, heteronormativity is acceptable’.
Although 2013 may seem a distant memory, initiatives to change this challenging culture are slow, and authors from Black, Asian and racialised communities, especially if they are starting out will still often face additional criticism to their proposed work. We must show as the reading public, the stories we want to see, as the publishing industry answers to what they think the paying public want!!!!!.
Back to the Book
GWO, is obviously her masterpiece and this, Mr Loverman, (2013), does not have the same mastery of structure and content that GWO has. However it would be totally wrong to say Mr Loverman lacks in anything- it is a fun jubilant novel on family, age, and sexuality, which provides a perfect summer read -especially in Pride month !!
It is mostly told from the perspective of seventy-four year old Antiguan born, Barrington Jedidiah Walker. Moving to Britain shortly after his marriage in the 1960’s, he continues this marriage whilst being continuing a long term relationship with his childhood friend and soulmate, Morris. Barry’s wife of sixty years plus, Carmel is convinced he is out all night having affairs with countless women and once their daughters become adults they have little anymore that binds them together.
The story begins in the present, which was 2010 and flits back every other chapter or so to their life and teen-hoods in Antigua, Caribbean island. The sections back in time allow the reader to discover the depths of Barry and Morris’s relationship, beginning when they were around seventeen years old, and despite quiet patches, they do not deviate from their devotion to one another despite both getting individually getting married, moving across the world and having children.
How Barry and Morris see their homosexual relationship in the novel, is constantly put alongside contemporary understandings and terminology surrounding the LGBTQ community. Growing up in Antigua and moving to a London, where homosexuality still remained illegal they are secretive, almost insular and reserved in their public affections towards one another, being very slow to take on board any sense of ‘Pride’ or LGBT rights, that and also Barry is still married !!
Barry takes pride in his appearance and education. The description of his flamboyant vintage style suits makes you imagine the swagger he must have as he walks around his beloved Hackney. He regularly draws upon all that he learnt from all the night classes he takes at universities, never quite mustering the staying power to finish a degree, but jumping between a range of Literature and Social politics classes. This pride he has, and probably his age too makes him very stuck in his ways, and it is only towards the end of the novel where he begins to understand the relevancy of new discussions of homosexuality in modern society, and how some of the ideas do relate to him.
In Barry’s narrative his personality is palpable. Evaristo cleverly writes it in his ‘language’ which is a mixture of Antiguan, Londoner, Old- time east ender- unique to him and it’s brilliant. It really has you giggling along with him as you take on his perspective of the world- and all his little observations of his personal relationships and his lovely hometown London.
I could say so much more but I recommend finding your own copy and enjoying this little summer read for Pride Month !
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