Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and Lanny by Max Porter are among NPR’s Favourite Books of 2019

Catherine Whelan, editor, Morning Edition, on Girl, Woman, Other:

Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other is about connection. It tracks 12 characters, mostly black, British women, of different generations, political opinions, classes, faiths and heritages as they move through one another’s worlds and times. Each person is drawn out in their own chapter, but their stories interweave: Some are friends, family or lovers, while others simply happen to be at the same show or argue on Twitter. It’s a surprising and funny read, full of raw human experience. There is no overarching story, but one emerges anyway: Girl, Woman, Other is deeply about humanness, heart and the things that ultimately unite us all.

Ericka Taylor, book critic, on Lanny:

Max Porter’s Lanny is a story of an extraordinary child (of somewhat ordinary parents in a rather ordinary English village) who, one day, goes missing. In lesser hands, much of what makes Lanny so compelling could come across as gimmicky. There’s fabulism and folklore and text that dances across the page instead of marching neatly from left margin to right. Porter’s inventiveness is a perfect fit for the narrative, however. Couple that with his wry humor, engaging prose and a plot that gradually ramps the tension up to “11,” and Lanny deserves a spot as one of the year’sbest.

Click here to see the other picks via NPR’s virtual Book Concierge on their website.