7 Aug 2013

MR LOVERMAN

MR LOVERMAN by BERNARDINE EVARISTO.

SOURCE: A GoodReads Win. 

Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo is a tragi-comic tale of homosexual love set in contemporary London.

Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney since the sixties. A flamboyant, wise-cracking local character with a dapper taste in retro suits and a fondness for quoting Shakespeare, Barrington is a husband, father and grandfather - but he is also secretly homosexual, lovers with his great childhood friend, Morris.


His deeply religious and disappointed wife, Carmel, thinks he sleeps with other women. When their marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away?


Mr Loverman is a ground-breaking exploration of Britain's older Caribbean community, which explodes cultural myths and fallacies and shows the extent of what can happen when people fear the consequences of being true to themselves.

..... Amazon image (the copy I received did not bear this cover) and product description. 

FIRST SENTENCE: An ARC copy, MR Loverman will be available August 29th, I was requested not to add any quotes. PW

MEMORABLE MOMENT: As above.

MY THOUGHTS: A poignant, bitter sweet read. A love story with a difference. A book that pulls no punches with regard to certain issues - homophobia, immigrant communities, domestic unrest and casual racism to name but a few - all done in a way that is humorous whilst providing some serious food for thought.

Not just a story about two elderly men who have been secretly in love since boyhood, Mr Loverman also explores family and community relationships and, personally not something I'm interested in, is largely without any physical sex scenes. The author choosing to chiefly concentrate on the emotional connection.



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13 comments:

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

This sounds like an emotional book that will make me think! I like that it focuses on relationships and emotions. Great review!

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

A great review, despite the 'gagging order' on the quotations from the book.

It amazes me that a publisher or author requests a review, then doesn't actually want you to write anything that will give away something from the story!

This probably isn't a book I shall be rushing to read, just not my cup of tea.

Yvonne

Cherie Reich said...

Thanks for the review!

This one sounds like an emotional book to read.

Literary Feline said...

This sounds like quite a book, one that I might actually like. It takes on quite a few heavy issues, ones well worth taking the time to think about and discuss. Thanks for the great review and the heads up about this book.

Kelly said...

I think this would be quite good and I love the cover!

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I like that this one is so different and I do like the emotional edge to it. Thanks for the review.

The Bookworm said...

This sounds like an emotional and unexpected read!

Suko said...

Terrific review, as usual! This book was completely new to me. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Gina said...

Not sure this would make my to read list but it does sound like the author made it a read for all. Thanks for sharing!

Jean said...

I find myself torn when faced with situations like this - I dislike anyone being unfaithful whether hetero or homosexual. But I also feel for people afraid to be who they are. Not enough to condone the double life though. In my mind, you choose one or the other. Conform and be unhappy with being unfulfilled. Or be fulfilled and be unhappy with what others may think of you. I don't suppose there are really very many people who get to have it all.

Brian Joseph said...

Great commentary on this book.

Sounds like a great read all around.

Reading the basic details it sounds like one would feel very sorry for the Carmel character.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Sounds like a unique LGBT novel. That's great! Love that they focus a lot on the emotions.

Yanting Gueh said...

Lots of emotional turbulence, but probably not one I'd pick up right away. My appetite for heavier-subjects (especially those on Regrets) requires a longer build-up period.