Difference between revisions of "Women's Prize for Fiction 2013"

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It used to be the Orange Prize for Fiction - now it's the Women's Prize for Fiction and these are the longlisted books:
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It used to be the Orange Prize for Fiction - now it's the Women's Prize for Fiction  
  
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{{topten
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'''SHORTLIST'''
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|author=Kitty Aldridge
 
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|title=A Trick I Learned from Dead Men
 
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|rating=4.5
 
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|genre=Literary Fiction
 
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|summary=Kitty Aldridge's ''A Trick I Learned from Dead Men'' is a touchingly written, quirky story set in the world of funeral homes. The narrator is twenty-something Lee Hart. He's not the sharpest tool in the box, but his life has been tough. His father left when he was young and his mother has recently died of cancer leaving him, his step-father, a sofa-bound television make-over show addict and his deaf and wayward younger brother, Ned to fend for themselves. Lee lands a job as a trainee at the local funeral home helping Derek prepare the dead for burial or cremation. Far from being a dead end job though, it is here that he learns, ironically, about life and love, in the form of the delivery girl from the local florists. 
 
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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224096435</amazonuk>
 
−
}}
 
  
 
{{topten
 
{{topten
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|summary= We don't have a review of this book yet.  
 
|summary= We don't have a review of this book yet.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0385618670</amazonuk>
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0385618670</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=A M Homes
 +
|title=May We Be Forgiven
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=GeneralFiction
 +
|summary=May We Be Forgiven is not an easy book to summarise. The book is narrated by Harold, a fairly pedestrian academic teacher and aspiring writer of history and particularly the Nixon era. We don't have to wait long for the catalyst that changes his life fundamentally over the course of a year. His high flying, younger brother, George, is involved in a car accident shortly after Thanksgiving and an adulterous encounter will change the lives of Harold and George forever. AM Homes offers a biting satire of the American Dream, taking swipes at materialism, families that are more nuclear fallout than nuclear, Internet sex sites and the dependence on drugs and psychiatrists to keep people on the straight and narrow. 
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847083242</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=Barbara Kingsolver
 +
|title=Flight Behaviour
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Literary Fiction
 +
|summary=
 +
Set in rural Tennessee, Dellarobia Turnbow is a young mother, trapped in the result of a shotgun wedding in a largely loveless marriage on her husband's failing family farm dominated by the disapproval of her God-fearing mother in law. She dreams of escape with equally unsuitable younger men until one day on her way to acting on this impulse for the first time, she encounters an act of nature that will change her life for good. Barbara Kingsolver perfectly captures in the opening paragraphs the sense of entrapment and dissatisfaction of Dellarobia and doesn't let up for a moment.
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571290779</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=Hilary Mantel
 +
|title=Bring up the Bodies
 +
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Historical Fiction
 +
|summary= Thomas Cromwell is now very far from his humble beginnings. He is Henry VIII's chief minister. Katherine of Aragorn is no longer Queen. The Princess Mary has been disinherited. Anne Boleyn wears the crown and has produced a daughter, Elizabeth. But there is no sign of a son and Henry is beginning to regret his secession from Rome. We pick up from [[Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel|Wolf Hall]] during the royal progress of 1535 and from there, we chart the destruction of the new Queen.
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007315090</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=Maria Semple
 +
|title=Where'd You Go, Bernadette
 +
|rating=4
 +
|genre=General Fiction
 +
|summary= Much like the missing question mark in the title it would seem, Bernadette has disappeared. Maria Semple's ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' works as both a physical and emotional question. Bernadette Fox is the wife of Elgie Branch, a star at Microsoft in Seattle, and mother of 15 year old, Bee. The narrative begins with Bee wondering where her mother had gone, but then quickly moves to an epistolary format told in e-mails, notes and messages between the major players, including some rather obnoxious mothers at Bee's school, one of whom also works at Microsoft with Elgie. We are taken back a few weeks to when Bernadette was around and a seemingly somewhat angry mother prior to her mysterious disappearance. One of the delights about the book, which along with being very funny on issues like helicopter parenting, corporate life and, er, Canadians, is that it emerges that Bernadette is more than a wife and mother but has a past career of her own as a talented architect which she has sacrificed for one reason or another. Thus, in many ways she disappeared long before her physical disappearance.
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0297867288</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=Zadie Smith
 +
|title=NW
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Literary Fiction
 +
|summary= Fans of Zadie Smith have had a seven year wait since her last book ''On Beauty''. In ''NW'', Smith returns to more of the issues addressed in her brilliant debut novel [[White Teeth by Zadie Smith|White Teeth]]. Set in parts of London that should be obvious from the title, the book takes the lives of four people who grew up on a rough estate and looks at how they have moved on - or not. All four still live nearby the estate where they grew up. There's multi-cultural tension and the have and have nots of power and money and Smith looks at how much individuals are in control of their destiny and ability to rise out of their upbringing, and how chance encounters can bring you back to your past with a bump.
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241144140</amazonuk>
 +
}}
 +
 +
'''OTHER BOOKS ON THE LONGLIST'''
 +
 +
{{topten
 +
|author=Kitty Aldridge
 +
|title=A Trick I Learned from Dead Men
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Literary Fiction
 +
|summary=Kitty Aldridge's ''A Trick I Learned from Dead Men'' is a touchingly written, quirky story set in the world of funeral homes. The narrator is twenty-something Lee Hart. He's not the sharpest tool in the box, but his life has been tough. His father left when he was young and his mother has recently died of cancer leaving him, his step-father, a sofa-bound television make-over show addict and his deaf and wayward younger brother, Ned to fend for themselves. Lee lands a job as a trainee at the local funeral home helping Derek prepare the dead for burial or cremation. Far from being a dead end job though, it is here that he learns, ironically, about life and love, in the form of the delivery girl from the local florists. 
 +
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224096435</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 56: Line 107:
 
|summary=Much has been made in the media about the similarity in approach of Sheila Heti's fictionalised autobiographical ''How Should A Person Be?'' and Lena Dunham's HBO television series ''Girls''. They certainly share a similarly bleak and introspective view of life, both are apparently based on the writer's own experience, both have a somewhat knowingly shock factor particularly when it comes to sex and both leave me somewhat depressed and sad. And both have been critical successes in the US. Indeed, ''How Should A Person Be?'' also features on the 2013 long list for the [[Women's Prize for Fiction 2013|Women's Prize for Fiction]], although it's not easy to assess where the fiction starts and the reality stops. In fact, the conceit is also somewhat similar to the scripted reality shows that dominate certain television channels. The effect is something that is interesting as a concept and exercise but less than enjoyable to read.   
 
|summary=Much has been made in the media about the similarity in approach of Sheila Heti's fictionalised autobiographical ''How Should A Person Be?'' and Lena Dunham's HBO television series ''Girls''. They certainly share a similarly bleak and introspective view of life, both are apparently based on the writer's own experience, both have a somewhat knowingly shock factor particularly when it comes to sex and both leave me somewhat depressed and sad. And both have been critical successes in the US. Indeed, ''How Should A Person Be?'' also features on the 2013 long list for the [[Women's Prize for Fiction 2013|Women's Prize for Fiction]], although it's not easy to assess where the fiction starts and the reality stops. In fact, the conceit is also somewhat similar to the scripted reality shows that dominate certain television channels. The effect is something that is interesting as a concept and exercise but less than enjoyable to read.   
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846557542</amazonuk>
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846557542</amazonuk>
−
}}
 
−
 
−
{{topten
 
−
|author=A M Homes
 
−
|title=May We Be Forgiven
 
−
|rating=4
 
−
|genre=GeneralFiction
 
−
|summary=May We Be Forgiven is not an easy book to summarise. The book is narrated by Harold, a fairly pedestrian academic teacher and aspiring writer of history and particularly the Nixon era. We don't have to wait long for the catalyst that changes his life fundamentally over the course of a year. His high flying, younger brother, George, is involved in a car accident shortly after Thanksgiving and an adulterous encounter will change the lives of Harold and George forever. AM Homes offers a biting satire of the American Dream, taking swipes at materialism, families that are more nuclear fallout than nuclear, Internet sex sites and the dependence on drugs and psychiatrists to keep people on the straight and narrow. 
 
−
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847083242</amazonuk>
 
−
}}
 
−
 
−
{{topten
 
−
|author=Barbara Kingsolver
 
−
|title=Flight Behaviour
 
−
|rating=4.5
 
−
|genre=Literary Fiction
 
−
|summary=
 
−
Set in rural Tennessee, Dellarobia Turnbow is a young mother, trapped in the result of a shotgun wedding in a largely loveless marriage on her husband's failing family farm dominated by the disapproval of her God-fearing mother in law. She dreams of escape with equally unsuitable younger men until one day on her way to acting on this impulse for the first time, she encounters an act of nature that will change her life for good. Barbara Kingsolver perfectly captures in the opening paragraphs the sense of entrapment and dissatisfaction of Dellarobia and doesn't let up for a moment.
 
−
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571290779</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 84: Line 116:
 
|summary= We don't have a review of this book yet.  
 
|summary= We don't have a review of this book yet.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1844089177</amazonuk>
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1844089177</amazonuk>
−
}}
 
−
 
−
{{topten
 
−
|author=Hilary Mantel
 
−
|title=Bring up the Bodies
 
−
|rating=5
 
−
|genre=Historical Fiction
 
−
|summary= Thomas Cromwell is now very far from his humble beginnings. He is Henry VIII's chief minister. Katherine of Aragorn is no longer Queen. The Princess Mary has been disinherited. Anne Boleyn wears the crown and has produced a daughter, Elizabeth. But there is no sign of a son and Henry is beginning to regret his secession from Rome. We pick up from [[Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel|Wolf Hall]] during the royal progress of 1535 and from there, we chart the destruction of the new Queen.
 
−
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007315090</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 129: Line 152:
 
|summary= Francesca Segal's debut novel, ''The Innocents'' is set in upper class, Jewish, North London. Adam is about to marry his childhood sweetheart, Rachel, and is working as a lawyer in her father's business. Into this romantic idyl though comes Ellie, Rachel's wayward cousin who has been forced to flee the US following an appearance in an 'art house' movie of dubious repute and, it turns out, further scandal. Ellie is everything that Rachel is not; a model, worldly, sexy and tempting. As Adam gets drawn into wanting to 'rescue' her and look after her, his whole future with Rachel is thrown into doubt and the story becomes a will they, won't they get together narrative.  
 
|summary= Francesca Segal's debut novel, ''The Innocents'' is set in upper class, Jewish, North London. Adam is about to marry his childhood sweetheart, Rachel, and is working as a lawyer in her father's business. Into this romantic idyl though comes Ellie, Rachel's wayward cousin who has been forced to flee the US following an appearance in an 'art house' movie of dubious repute and, it turns out, further scandal. Ellie is everything that Rachel is not; a model, worldly, sexy and tempting. As Adam gets drawn into wanting to 'rescue' her and look after her, his whole future with Rachel is thrown into doubt and the story becomes a will they, won't they get together narrative.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701186992</amazonuk>
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701186992</amazonuk>
−
}}
 
−
 
−
{{topten
 
−
|author=Maria Semple
 
−
|title=Where'd You Go, Bernadette
 
−
|rating=4
 
−
|genre=General Fiction
 
−
|summary= Much like the missing question mark in the title it would seem, Bernadette has disappeared. Maria Semple's ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' works as both a physical and emotional question. Bernadette Fox is the wife of Elgie Branch, a star at Microsoft in Seattle, and mother of 15 year old, Bee. The narrative begins with Bee wondering where her mother had gone, but then quickly moves to an epistolary format told in e-mails, notes and messages between the major players, including some rather obnoxious mothers at Bee's school, one of whom also works at Microsoft with Elgie. We are taken back a few weeks to when Bernadette was around and a seemingly somewhat angry mother prior to her mysterious disappearance. One of the delights about the book, which along with being very funny on issues like helicopter parenting, corporate life and, er, Canadians, is that it emerges that Bernadette is more than a wife and mother but has a past career of her own as a talented architect which she has sacrificed for one reason or another. Thus, in many ways she disappeared long before her physical disappearance.
 
−
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0297867288</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 147: Line 161:
 
|summary=Jamila and Pembe are twins who, growing up among the Kurdish in Turkey, are as wrapped in the customs of their Muslim faith and heritage as they are in the love of their family. While Jamila develops a talent that will make her the hub of her community, Pembe's destiny lies over the sea as she migrates to England with her husband Adem in search of a better life. However, the destiny that each travels towards is oh so different from the destiny of which they dream.   
 
|summary=Jamila and Pembe are twins who, growing up among the Kurdish in Turkey, are as wrapped in the customs of their Muslim faith and heritage as they are in the love of their family. While Jamila develops a talent that will make her the hub of her community, Pembe's destiny lies over the sea as she migrates to England with her husband Adem in search of a better life. However, the destiny that each travels towards is oh so different from the destiny of which they dream.   
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0670921165</amazonuk>
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0670921165</amazonuk>
−
}}
 
−
 
−
{{topten
 
−
|author=Zadie Smith
 
−
|title=NW
 
−
|rating=4.5
 
−
|genre=Literary Fiction
 
−
|summary= Fans of Zadie Smith have had a seven year wait since her last book ''On Beauty''. In ''NW'', Smith returns to more of the issues addressed in her brilliant debut novel [[White Teeth by Zadie Smith|White Teeth]]. Set in parts of London that should be obvious from the title, the book takes the lives of four people who grew up on a rough estate and looks at how they have moved on - or not. All four still live nearby the estate where they grew up. There's multi-cultural tension and the have and have nots of power and money and Smith looks at how much individuals are in control of their destiny and ability to rise out of their upbringing, and how chance encounters can bring you back to your past with a bump.
 
−
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241144140</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  

Revision as of 08:57, 16 April 2013

It used to be the Orange Prize for Fiction - now it's the Women's Prize for Fiction

SHORTLIST

Template:Topten


Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

OTHER BOOKS ON THE LONGLIST

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

Template:Topten

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