Soul Tourists (2005)
Even by Evaristo’s experimental standards, this book is a highly ambitious mash-up of forms and stories. It follows a mismatched couple—strait-laced Stanley and ebullient Jessie—on a road trip across Europe, where they encounter the ghosts of Black historical figures, from Alexander Pushkin to Mary Seacole. We learn a lot along the way, but the real engine of the story is Stanley and Jessie’s combative relationship. Told through a blend of prose, poetry, scripts, memos, legal documents, budget spreadsheets, and even road signs, Soul Tourists ultimately wobbles under the weight of its own good intentions and its restless variety. Still, it has charm and energy to spare.
Sample line: “Will you shut the fuck up, Mr. Whingealot! This is supposed to be a freewheeling adventure, not an expedition planned with military precision.”
Manifesto: On Never Giving Up (2021)
While we await Evaristo’s follow-up to Girl, Woman, Other, this slim memoir fills the gap. It’s a spirited tour through her life—from childhood (she gets her fighting spirit from her father) through her relationships, activism, and literary success. The theme is to keep going—with work, with love, with life—and Evaristo is tougher on herself than she is on others, though also understanding and forgiving. She observes that “storytelling [is] my most powerful means of communication,” and while the memoir is full of interesting details and humor, its piecemeal structure means it lacks the power of her fiction.
Sample line: “Boy, do I look fierce. I remember smiling at a baby on a plane once, only for its father to tell me I was scaring it. Thanks.”
Lara (1997)
Evaristo’s first novel was autobiographical and written entirely in verse. It’s a tribute to her heritage: her Nigerian father and her English mother’s Irish side, as well as family history connected to Germany and Brazil. Lara was a formative text for Evaristo—it helped her find her family and her own voice. Writing about your parents has its risks, however. Evaristo’s mother complained about the sex scenes between the narrator’s parents, asking, “What do you know?” Meanwhile, her father proudly showed his daughter’s first novel to everyone and claimed to have read it—but, as Evaristo wrote, “one of my brothers tested him on it, and he failed every question.”
Sample line: “At Eltham Hill Girls she torpedoed chewing gum on entering / hitched her skirt on exiting / tissue-padded her non-existents in the upstairs loo / and choked over smoke at lunchtime behind Jubilee Gardens.”
Blonde Roots (2008)
Evaristo’s first novel to be written entirely in prose takes a simple but brilliant idea—what if Europeans had been enslaved by Africans?—and runs with it to great effect. Doris Scagglethorpe is our white heroine—she hates her appearance and wants to have her nose flattened and skin darkened—who is captured and transported to “Amarika,” where both misery and adventure await. Although Blonde Roots is Evaristo’s most hard-edged book—some sections on the slave ship are particularly tough to read—the sharp irony throughout lightens the load, and the result is highly impressive.
Sample line: “My terms of engagement stipulated that it was a job for life, that my hours should run from Sunday to Monday 12am to 11.55pm daily, though I needed to be available to do overtime when required.”
The Emperor’s Babe (2001)
This novel epitomizes Evaristo’s approach at its best: pushing the reader to try new things without sacrificing readability. It tells the story of Zuleika, a half-Nubian girl in the year AD 211, who is married off at age 11 to a fat Roman nobleman. The entire story is told in free verse. Zuleika resents her marriage but then falls in love with the emperor, Septimius Severus. The novel is witty, vivid, and full of life, blending historical detail with contemporary slang and attitude. It’s a daring, joyful read that shows Evaristo’s unique talent for making the old new again.The Emperor’s Babe is a joyous ride, full of verbal energy and multilingual puns. The fact that it was, according to Evaristo, her “most wildly enjoyable writing process” comes across in the pleasure of reading it. A sample line: “His eyes swiftly shifted from ceiling to mine / and speared me – all metal / running down my cold spine, then melting / molten liquid, flowing into the scoop of the bowl / between my hips.”
Girl, Woman, Other (2019)
Evaristo’s superb Booker winner is a populous, expansive, and inclusive book: everyone is welcome. The novel cycles through the stories of 12 women, mostly Black, of all ages and backgrounds. The linking stories explore social status in modern Britain—”the hidden histories” of the country—and the smooth free-verse style, with no full stops, provides an effective rhythm for plot twists and punchlines. Most characters are struggling to thrive in a society not built in their image, divided on whether to try to fit in or to smash the system. Elements draw on Evaristo’s own life, but the novel achieves the alchemy of transforming raw material into gold. A sample line: “Both were disillusioned at being put up for parts such as slave, servant, prostitute, nanny or crim … and still not getting the job.”
Mr Loverman (2013)
This charming, affecting novel is about Barrington (“Barry”), a 74-year-old British-Caribbean man whose happy family life covers a small secret: he’s been having a gay affair with his best friend, Morris, for 60 years. It explores the fallout and the background (“this is what happens when 75 per cent of your life is in the past,” says Barry), using Evaristo’s love of textual variety and blended styles in her most controlled and beautifully effective way yet. Mr Loverman exemplifies the essence that has been there all along; what Evaristo’s longtime editor Simon Prosser calls “the flow and bounce of ordinary speech made memorable and poetic, the warmth and wit of her characterisation, the combination of high and low, funny and serious.” And it is gloriously funny. Evaristo—who cites French and Saunders as an influence, just as much as novelists—says: “If there’s no humour, I feel my writing doesn’t work in some way.” Mr Loverman works perfectly from top to tail. A sample line: “God a-damn me the day I chose to enter this hellish so-called marriage instead of following my Morris-loving, sweet-loving, full-blooded, hot-blooded, rumping-pumping, throbbing organ of an uncontainable, unrestrainable, undetainable man-loving heart.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about ranking Bernardine Evaristos best books from beginner to advanced
Beginner General Questions
Q Who is Bernardine Evaristo and why is she famous
A She is a celebrated British author and the first Black woman to win the Booker Prize for her novel Girl Woman Other Shes known for her innovative writing style and stories that center the lives of people of color particularly women
Q What does From Manifesto to Mr Loverman refer to
A It refers to the range of her work Manifesto is her memoir and Mr Loverman is one of her most popular novels A ranking list would cover all her books in between
Q Ive only read Girl Woman Other What should I read next
A Most readers go to Mr Loverman next or The Emperors Babe They showcase her range perfectly
Q Are all her books written in that unique style from Girl Woman Other
A No each book experiments with form Girl Woman Other uses a hybrid prosepoetry style The Emperors Babe is in verse Mr Loverman and Blonde Roots are more traditional prose novels but all are highly inventive
Q What are the main themes in her work
A Identity the African diaspora experience British history feminism family and the search for belonging and personal freedom
Intermediate Ranking Questions
Q What book is considered her best besides Girl Woman Other
A Mr Loverman is often cited as a close second for its brilliant character study and humor The Emperors Babe is frequently ranked highly for its sheer originality and daring concept
Q I love historical fiction Which of her books should I prioritize
A Definitely
