Women's Prize for Fiction

The UK's Women's Prize for Fiction published its shortlist for 2019:

I find the books on lists like these are all good reads, not just the winners. But this year I'll go straight for the prize-winner named at the end of this list. It has just the kind of complexity that keeps me intrigued. Happy reading!


Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
In her own take on the events of The Iliad, Barker explores the Trojan War from the perspective of women, who served mainly as slaves or prostitutes, or those who lay out the dead. The story focuses on the battle between Achilles and Agamemnon over Briseis, once queen of a kingdom near Troy.




 Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe, born without the power of her father Helios or the astonishing allure of her mother, turns to mortals for companionship and discovers her own tremendous power of witchcraft that can menace the gods themselves. Will she suffer retribution?



Ordinary People by Diana Evans
Evans follows two couples who are dealing with changing values and commitments. Melissa and Michael, still engaged after 13 years, are grappling with the changes the come with their role as parents of a seven-year-old and a new baby. Melissa misses her job as a fashion editor, and Michael feels ignored and is in danger of being unfaithful. Their friends Damian and Stephanie realize 16 years into their marriage that they both want very different lives.




My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Realizing that her beautiful and favored sister Ayoola is actually a sociopath, Koreda tries to help her cover up the murders of her boyfriends until the doctor that Koreda works with, her long-term secret love, asks her for Ayoola's phone number. ("The wittiest and most fun murder party you've ever been invited to." -- Marie Claire)




Milkman by Anna Burns
In Northern Ireland in the Troubles of the 1970s, an unnamed narrator, who stands out because she reads while walking and takes French night classes, finds herself pursued by a high-ranking paramilitary known as Milkman, though she does not want the danger such attention could bring. (Milkman won the 2018 Man Booker Prize.)




An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Celeste, an artist on the brink of success, marries Roy, a young executive. Soon Roy is arrested for a crime and sentenced to twelve years in prison. Celeste knows he did not commit the crime, but eventually she takes comfort in Andre, her dear friend from childhood. When Roy's sentence is suddenly overturned, Celeste must find a way to face the past and move forward.


The Winner: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.