I am still following the progress of the Women’s Prize for fiction. I have had some tasters to a few longlisted novels: Almost English, The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, Eleven Days; I only finished Almost English by Charlotte Mendelsson and I like it but there is no love, unfortunately.
The shortlist has been announced last Monday evening and they are:
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Hannah Kent – Burial Rites
- Jhumpa Lahiri – The Lowland
- Audrey Magee – The Undertaking
- Eimear McBride – A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing
- Donna Tartt – The Goldfinch
I read Americanah and love it. I finished Burial Rites today and I love it too, it is so engaging and haunting! I tried to start A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing tonight and I thought the language used was too creative and bizarre for me to truly appreciate what it is trying to say, so I am going to give it up and I will fell off my chair if it becomes the winner…. 😉
So there are three books on the shortlist left which I haven’t read, two are written by heavyweight writers. Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my favourite author but I heard Lowland doesn’t quite live up to the expectation, still I think I would read anything she has written. Donna Tartt, ahhh….. how can I forget the tragic The Secret History? For someone who only publish once every decade, I am keen to read Donna Tartt’s third novel.
The winner will be announced at an award ceremony to be held in The Clore Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall on 4 June 2014.
What do you think about the shortlist? Have you read any of them? Would you like to?
JoV's Book Pyramid 
The only one I have read is Burial Rites and I loved it. I’m one of the few people in the world who isn’t a Donna Tartt fan but I woud like to read Americanah
Posted by bernadetteinoz | April 10, 2014, 1:59 amBernadette,
I hope you like Americanah. It’s slow burning but I love how Adichie writes. It draws you into a different world and that’s her strength.
Posted by JoV | April 16, 2014, 8:08 pmI’m SO pleased that Americanah made it to the shortlist. It was one of my favorites from last year, and it well deserves the honor. The Goldfinch was really good too, but if I had to choose, I’d pick Americanah to win.
Posted by Jenny @ Reading the End | April 10, 2014, 2:07 amJenny,
Me too! Lets keep all our fingers and toes crossed that Americanah wins! 😀
Posted by JoV | April 16, 2014, 8:08 pmHi Jenny,
is your book blog URL working? I can’t seem to get into it. Let me know, Thanks.
Posted by JoV | April 16, 2014, 8:13 pmI haven’t read any of them but I have The Lowland and Americanah on my TBR list.
Posted by Nish | April 10, 2014, 9:28 amHi Nish,
I’m reading the Lowland now. Not bad. I am a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri’s short stories but we’ll see how this novel goes. 😉
Posted by JoV | April 16, 2014, 8:09 pm