This year’s winner of the Women’s Prize will be announced June 6. These books are up for the award:
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
- Pod by Laline Paull
- Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
- Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
- Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
In addition to these books, the 2023 longlist included:
- The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
- Memphis by Tara Stringfellow
- Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
- Homesick by Jennifer Croft
- The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
- Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
- Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
- I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
- Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
- Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
This year I’ve read 8 of the 16 books on the longlist. I’ve described them in order of my favorites.
The Bandit Queens: This was a fantastic surprise as I knew nothing about this book. It’s my favorite kind of historical fiction, about a person I would never have heard of otherwise. Shroff’s inspiration for this book was twofold: the abuses of women and the lower castes in India, and the story of Phoolan Devi, a woman who took revenge on her male abusers and became an activist and member of Parliament. This book had fantastic characters and was laugh-out loud funny (I highly recommend the audio version as I wouldn’t have gotten much of the sarcasm and humor without that). I’m trying to read books about other countries, and this is a book that explores the systemic problems of India, but also its culture, art, history and religion. It’s also a moving story of female friendship and personal empowerment.
Demon Copperhead: Also a surprise, as I often find retellings of classic literature forced. It’s hard to make a Dickens novel relevant in today’s world but Kingsolver absolutely does that. Instead of Victorian England, it’s set in rural Virginia, not far from where I live, in the 90s opioid epidemic. Kingsolver explores our prejudices against rural people in the Appalachians, as well as addiction, abuse, poverty and the foster care system. David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens but instead of trying to match every modern day character to its literary counterpart, I just found myself enjoying this story on its own merits.
The Marriage Portrait: Every book by O’Farrell is worth reading, and each one feels new and different. This book is about Lucrezia de Medici, a young woman in Renaissance Italy who begins the book in fear that her husband is going to murder her. Lucrezia’s husband inspired the Browning poem “My Last Duchess”. O’Farrell skillfully builds the characters of Lucrezia and her husband, and combines references to art and literature with a dramatic and chilling story. It’s not long but it’s unforgettable.
Trespasses: This was a book I’m still thinking about, which I expect from the Women’s Prize. The first half was slow and very dark, so I kept putting it down and reaching for something lighter. But I fell in love with the characters and it all came together for me. The story is set in 1975 in Belfast during The Troubles. Cushla, a Catholic, teaches young children and works in her family’s pub. She befriends a family who is ostracized at her school, and then she falls for a much older man, who’s married and a Protestant. I particularly recommend this book by audio as the reader brought the different characters to life, especially that of young Davy. I normally don’t like adorable children in books but Davy was the exception.
Stone Blind: I grew up loving Greek mythology and had quite the crush on Harry Hamlin from Clash of the Titans. Today that movie is horribly cheesy and the effects are terrible – but in the 80’s I loved everything about it. Haynes’ retelling of the story from the female perspective is not only clever and funny but also made me realize how much I took for granted about this very male-oriented story. Why is Medusa a villain when she wasn’t even hurting anyone, and why does Perseus get to glory in her murder?
Fire Rush: Another book I’m still pondering, it was complex and at times difficult to follow due to the dialect and unfamiliar terminology. Yamaye is a young woman in London who loves going to clubs with her friends; she especially loves singing and “dub reggae”. She distrusts most of the men in the clubs until she meets Moose and she begins exploring her Jamaican heritage – until police brutality shatters their relationship. Yamaye is thrust into a world of activism and the terrorism that often comes with standing up for people’s rights.
Pod is a gorgeously written book, much like Paull’s previous book, The Bees. Like that book, she takes a deep look inside the minds of dolphins and other sea creatures, anthropomorphizing them somewhat but also constantly reminding us that they have their own way of thinking. What kept me from loving this book was that it was difficult to read about rape and captivity in this context, because the psychology of sex among the dolphins of course is different from ours, but rape is rape. There were also a lot of different characters and marine life I was unfamiliar with. It was worth the read though, especially if you love reading about animals or if you loved The Bees.
Memphis: This book didn’t quite live up to all the great things I’d heard about it. It covered a bit too much historical ground and switched perspectives and chronology too much for me to get really invested in the characters. I love a good family saga, and I appreciated the way this book explored how family violence and trauma impacts future generations. But I didn’t end up loving the book.
Have you read any of the books on the list? What would be your pick for the Prize? I lean towards Demon Copperhead, but both O’Farrell and Kingsolver have won before, so it would be nice to see one of the other authors win.
