Yo yo readers! This book prize season, I have selected five of my favourite prize winning books written by female authors. Many of them were nominated for multiple prizes including the Women's Prize for Fiction, Man Booker Prize, Folio Prize, Costa Book Award, Whitbread Book of the year and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
 Library Copy Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie |
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (2018)
Based on Sophocles' play Antigone, Shamsie frames the tale through the perspective of five characters across the world to reflect the original plays five acts.
In Home Fire, she plays with concepts of identity, dealing with being both Muslim and British, presenting a dichotomy between the two. Love and death weave throughout this novel, leading to further exploration of themes around civil disobedience and family bonds. Shamsie also produces very empathetic characters, which in turn allows you to stay invested in the twists and turns of the story.
It’s easy to see why it won the 2018 edition of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, as well as making the Booker prize longlist the year before, and with a justifiable place on the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Books a year after the Women’s Prize for Fiction win.
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Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004)
One of a trio of awards won by Levy for Small Island (she would also pick up the Whitbread(Costa) Book of The Year in 2004 and the Commonwealth Writers Prize the year after), Small Island is arguably her greatest work.
Set in London way back in 1948, this chronicles the lives of Queenie & Bernard Bligh, Gilbert & Hortense Joseph, and Michael Roberts. Small Island documents the experiences of Jamaicans moving to England and trying to settle in London.
Levy gives this story a realness that cuts deep, and uses a compelling cast of characters to tell a story of love, identity and the shattering of perceptions upon contact with reality.
How to be Both by Ali Smith (2015)
An ode to loss and the power of art, How to be Both is a charming story of George, a sixteen year old girl struggling with the loss of her mother.
With the responsibility of raising her younger brother, and managing her alcoholic father, George finds herself reminiscing of times spent with her Mother. Fixating on the art works of Francesco del Cossa that they had seen together George continues to visit London to see the artists work.
Meanwhile a disembodied del Cossa finds himself floating by George’s shoulder.
Shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize, Smith would go on to pick up the 2014 Costa Book Award for Best Novel and the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize. With so many plaudits How to be Both lives up to the hype.
 Library Copy How to be Both by Ali Smith |
 Library Copy of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2007)
Set in the years preceding the Nigerian Civil War, as well as covering that time period Adichie creates a genuine masterpiece.
In Half of a Yellow Sun, we see through the eyes of three characters, the aftermath of colonialism in Africa, as well as the rise and fall of a nation.
A commitment to telling her story with unflinching realism, Adichie successfully crafts a narrative that is gripping, built around twin sisters Olanna and Kainene. Both undergo truly great character arcs which are for me the highlight of this book.
Half of a Yellow Sun won the Womens Prize for Fiction in 2007.
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (2005)
Are we products of nature? Or are we the culmination of nurturing? This is a theme that runs throughout We Need To Talk About Kevin. Following the birth of her first child Kevin, Eva Khatchadourian is unwillingly forced to abandon her career as a travel writer to raise her son.She struggles with him, finding him antagonistic, while Kevin’s behaviour when his father Franklin is around is seemingly impeccable. As a rift grows within the family, and Kevin’s behaviour worsens, Eva finds herself struggling to cope.
A difficult read, it is none the less very well written, keeping you turning the pages to the bitter end. We Need To Talk About Kevin won the Womens Prize for Fiction in 2005.
 Library Copy of We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver |
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