Mr. Loverman

One of the best written and most enjoyable stories Ive read in quite some time. The prose is beautiful with a palpable rhythm, and the characters are multi-dimensional. Loved it.

When I saw this title paired with a female author, I wondered if perhaps here was another female author who is offering to enlighten us on the dynamics of coping with age as a gay man. I quickly cast aside the cynicism and thoroughly enjoyed these fascinating and well crafted characters. What we see is how the gayness of a family patriarch, Barry, unleashes all that is good and bad in his extended family. Barry and his wife, Carmel are both highly intelligent, and quick to take advantage of business and career opportunities. As is often the case in real life, people who have this innate ability to move obstacles out of the way and be masters of their own destinies also struggle with their own large egos. When they meet their match, as Barry and Carmel clearly have in their marriage, they live amidst the wreckage of their unyielding personalities. They slog on defiantly, holding their turf, but never having a realistic strategy for escape. The author takes us into the lives of their extended family and we see how those personality traits invest in the offspring and further snarl any attempt Barry and Carmel have at resolving their own transitions to something better.

We encounter these characters in a seemingly self-satisfied state of equilibrium where they blame others for their own miseries, and they never miss an opportunity to inflict emotional battery on each other. What the author does so beautifully is to take the story from this classic state of family dysfunction to show us how each character in his or her own way moves on with life. The bonus is that in finding a way out, they also find something of value in each other. There is no single hero among these characters, but you’ll come to love them all.

A delight. A sparkling portrait of an old part of London revitalized by the West Indian community. A privilege to be guided into the twists and turns of Caribbean London by Bernadine Everisto whose light-hearted style belies the depth and intricacy with which she draws her characters. It is a sensuous book, the descriptions of food, of colour, of music, of human intimacy and love are written so well that one experiences them as well as reading them.
Highly recommended

So original, so heartfelt, so funny. Shes a great writer and had me rooting for Barry and Morris from the beginning. A treat.

This was such a refreshing book to read. I love how the use of language is different for each character, and it’s a very unique story.

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