A review by rachelemm
Lara: The Family Is Like Water by Bernardine Evaristo

4.0

Bernardine Evaristo is a rare writer in that with each book of hers you get a completely different experience. Having already enjoyed Girl, Woman, Other and Mr Loverman I came to Lara with high expectations. I enjoyed Lara but for very different reasons to why I enjoyed the other two books of hers I read. Lara is written in verse and the language is slightly more opaque than it was in the other two books. I had to go back and read some of the sections two or three times to make sure I had understood them properly. The effort was worth it, Lara is a book that I think would reward more than one read. There is plenty to uncover in this story based on Evaristo's own family history. There are issues of interracial marriage, family, race and class all handled with beautiful writing that may at times mask the sad stories being told. Lara is a wonderful read to be savoured and revisited.