Updated: May 31, 2019
The women’s prize is like Oscars season for literature geeks (AKA me). The best of women’s writing from the past year wrapped up in one tidy shortlist. And boy there are some stunners in this year’s line up. So the next six weeks of the #LWLbookclub are dedicated to these authors and their exceptional novels before we celebrate the winner Ladies-who-Launch style in June. Meet this year’s shortlist:
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Rejected by her kin, banished by Zeus and left alone of the island of Aiaia, this strange and magical tale tells the story of the goddess Circe and her extraordinary exile. Author Madeleine Miller brings Circe back from obscurity, stitching together the fragments of a story littered across history to tell the whole tale. This time in Circe’s own voice.
Read our full review here.
Ordinary People by Diane Evans
Set between South London and the suburbs, Ordinary People follows the lives of two families. As normal as they come, their lives are bound by compromise, responsibility and relationships. From coping with parenthood to the oppressive fragility of domestic life, Evans explores their existential struggles against the backdrop of familiar humdrum routines.
Read our full review here.
My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
What would you do if Villanelle was your sister? Well, that’s Korede’s reality. In her darkly funny first novel, Oyinkan Braithwaite reimagines sibling relationships in this serial-killer thriller where sisterly love means covering up a murder every now and again. That is until Korede’s sister sets her bloody sights on the man she’s in love with.
Read our full review here.
Milkman by Anna Burns
Middle sister has a problem. Between the troubles and her mother’s mission to marry her off, the milkman appears. His unwelcome interest in middle sister becomes the talk of the town and despite her resistance, the rumours persist. A story about inaction and consequences, Milkman is an original take on Northern Ireland in the 70s through the eyes of a teenager.
Read our full review here.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Another Greek mythology, another women reclaimed from the ravages of time and given the platform so often denied to female figures in antiquity. This time Pat Barker has given Briseis a voice in the battle of Troy. Silenced and objectified inThe Iliad, Briseis alongside the other women caught up in literature's most famous war, retell the tale from their perspective in their bid for freedom.
Read our full review here.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment the American Dream. They have careers, property and a bright future ahead of them. When their lives are ripped apart by an event neither could have imagined, their commitment is tested. At it's heart Jones's novel is a tragic love story. It takes an insightful look into lovers who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control.
Read our full review here.
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Find out more about the Women's Prize and the esteemed panel of judges here.