Mr Loverman

Recently I strongly recommended Bernardine Evaristo’s Booker Prize-winning novel Girl, Woman, Other. It’s layered, complex, skilful, moving, and just simply immensely enjoyable.

So time to go into her back catalogue. Mr Loverman (2013) is also a treat. This time the narrative hangs on the story of one man, Barrington Walker, now 74 and originally from Antigua. The central idea of the novel (and this is not a spoiler), is that for 60 years he has been in an erotic and emotional relationship with his childhood mate Morris. Neither his wife Carmel nor daughters Donna and Maxine know.

The narrative switches between ‘now’ (2010) and the past. It’s full of eventful drive, but the main driving force is the narrator’s own voice, which shifts between the sophisticated and the demotic, and is so often very funny. Evaristo is particularly good at shaping narrative, and taking us along on the journeys her characters experience. Again with no spoiler, in the last words of the book Barry (literally on a journey at the time) is advised to ‘sit back comfy and easy and listen to the one and only Miss Shirley Bassey and let we just enjoy the vibes, man, enjoy the vibes.’ I really enjoyed them in this book.