Just as good to listen to as it was to read. All the stars for Ms. Evaristo. An absolute joy to read. Thank you, Ms. Evaristo: for both your candour and amazing and refreshing sense of humour. Oh, and also for the inspiration. Yes, you made it: you became a Great Writer. Consider me an all time fan anxiously waiting for your next book.PS. You brought tears to my eyes and that’s not an easy feat.

It was such a thrill to be at the award ceremony on the historic night of Bernardine Evaristo's Booker Prize win for her novel “Girl, Woman, Other”. At the time I was a great admirer of the book and was aware of her reputation, but I had no idea how many years of hard graft and dedication the author had devoted to reaching this point. Now, reading her memoir “Manifesto”, I also have such an admiration for this creative individual who has fused her experience and imagination to produce a body of

I thought this book would be more about themes and ideas than Evaristo's own personal life.This book reads more like a memoir than a 'series of essays' that is promised in the blurb. This isn't a problem, and I still enjoyed reading, but just surprising as I wasn't expecting it to be like that.I didn't know Bernardine Evasristo had a background in theatre before reading, and I particularly enjoyed the chapters where she tells us of her experiences in the theatre world.I wish the book had been mo...

I think I was surprised by how conventional of an autobiography this has felt. Having read almost all of Evaristo´s work, I was expecting more of a punch, I guess. Manifesto often ventures into being matronly/patronizing but still offers many great pieces of advice for people who want to follow a creative path. I´ve simultaneously read the printed version and listened to the audiobook, narrated by Evaristo herself, which enhanced my reading experience - otherwise my rating would have been rather...

Such a great book for fans of Bernadine Evaristo!! In this memoir she covers her childhood and life growing up as a biracial Black girl in Britain. I also loved hearing about her growth as both a person and a writer. Her relationship ups and downs and her struggles with abusive partners. It was great hearing about her thoughts looking back on her career and the challenges she went through. She didn't win the Man Booker prize until she was 60. Success was not immediate or overnight and even now s...

At the end of December, I had in mind that I would invite Megan Stielstra over for a cup of coffee and some peach cobbler bread. We would talk about anything and everything under the sun. After finishing Manifesto on Never Giving Up, I’m switching things up a bit. Rather than a breakfast chat, a very small, intimate dinner party is in the works instead. Megan remains on the list of course, but now the invite has been extended to Bernardine Evaristo as well. Sorry friends, it’s just the three of

To not just read my review but see me talking about this book see the latest edition of this great Youtube interview series (I'm second up, around 9 minutes in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tev6p...A vibrant account about the background of the writer, her path through life, love, the publishing industry and society at large. Evaristo her voice is as captivating as ever and her message is both important and uplifting.At nineteen I was already determined to lead an alternative live. Having gro...

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | |“I am first and foremost a writer, the written word is how I process everything—myself, life, society, history, politics. It’s not just a job or a passion, but it is at the very heart of how I exist in the world, and I am addicted to the adventure of storytelling as my most powerful means of communication.” In Manifesto Bernardine Evaristo presents us with a retrospective of her life: from her childhood and family dynamics to discussing her love life and career. He...

an incredible memoir detailing evaristo’s childhood (specifically growing up in a mixed race family in london during the 60s/70s), love life, years as a theatre student and her life-long journey as a writer, all the way up to her winning the 2019 Booker Prize for the equally incredible book Girl, Woman, Other, making her the first black British person and first black woman to do so. as evaristo recounts her life, her grit and determination as a writer really shines through, and that combined wi...

3.5 stars. An interesting, matter of fact, mainly chronological memoir of the author’s first 61 years of life. The first third of the book is about her upbringing and covers similar issues to her semi autobiographical novel, ‘Lara’. Born in London, with a white middle class mother and a black Nigerian, working class father. The author is one of eight children. Her parents divorced after being married for 33 years. The family was the only mixed race family where they lived. Bernardine left home a...

MANIFESTO was the perfect book to start the year with—it’s full of Evaristo’s humour and generous candour, as much about her own literary and artistic journey as it is a motivational piece. It’s also a delicious read if you’re diving into Evaristo’s backlist and want a behind-the-scenes into her fiction, and if you’re like me reading this it’ll make you want to read everything she has penned! A beautiful book that I look forward to returning to when I next need a reminder to keep going.

A fascinating memoir that gives an honest telling of who Bernardino Everisto is and how her life influenced the creative writer she has become. Born to a White Mother who grew up in England and an Immigrant Father from Nigeria, life was unconventional. Many people were cruel to her and her family. Her mother’s family could not accept that she loved and married a black man. People threw bricks at her house. So she knows that she is always an outsider. She was raised to be independent and was not

I like the way that this book works on a couple of levels. First as a biography of the writer Bernardine Evaristo, and then as an encouragement to other writers, urging them in the words of the subtitle 'On Never Giving Up’.In 2019 Evaristo jointly won the Booker Prize and it was an event that changed her life. Before that, she had written numerous books and stage plays but they had not received the attention they deserved. Now people are reading her earlier works with new eyes, opened for them

Absolutely one of the best books that I've read in my life

"I wasn't an overnight succes, but everything changed overnight." When Bernadine Evaristo won the Man Booker Prize in 2019, together with Margaret Atwood, the discussion immediately began. Not only whether it was a good idea to share the prize, but most people wondered: Who is Bernadine Evaristo? A striking question, since the 62-year-old author has been publishing books since 1997; the winner of the Booker Prize, Girl, Woman, Other is her ninth novel. In this fascinating and encouraging bio

This is a powerful and interesting book where the booker prize looks back at her life and struggles growing up relationships and the racial attacks she had growing up in 1960's Britain and her journey to winning the booker prize

I just love love love Bernardine Evaristo. Just put a hold on Blonde Roots at the library so I can give it another chance, and I can't wait. I just want to thank her for all her amazingness. Her story is a good one, and she deserves every success. Thank you!

Usually when I read about someone at the peak of their profession and they claim they got there just by hard work, I'm like, "well..." because there are usually a variety of factors and privileges. I think a lot of the world was surprised by Evaristo's Booker win a few years ago with Girl, Woman, Other (I was!) and then to see quite a backlist. So, maybe in her case, it really was grit and hard work. I wanted to find out.Manifesto really does mean how Evaristo manifested her success. She grew up...

4.5 rounded upA relatively light memoir that manages to be profound and inciteful about the struggles of authors in the writing process but also delving into important issues of race, class and sexuality and how they impacted Evaristo as a playwrite, poet and author.

if i could give this more than 5 stars i would! her life is incredibly interesting and just outright cool tbh and she writes with such energy and humour - what an inspiration!