As a fan of fiction, a fan of empowered and intelligent women, and prizes that celebrate the two, how would I not be all over the
Orange Prize for Fiction? Yes, it's truly incredible. The Orange Prize, which was created in 1996, exists to celebrate and promote the work of outstanding females who write fiction in the English language.
So what does the longlist look like?
Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) - Sudanese; 3rd Novel
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (Canongate) - British; 10th Novel
Room by Emma Donoghue (Picador) - Irish; 7th Novel
The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi (Bloomsbury) - Indian; 1st Novel
Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty (Faber and Faber) - British; 6th Novel
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Corsair) - American; 4th Novel
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Bloomsbury) - British/Sierra Leonean; 3rd Novel
The London Train by Tessa Hadley (Jonathan Cape) - British; 4th Novel
Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson (Sceptre) - British; 1st Novel
The Seas by Samantha Hunt (Corsair) - American; 1st Novel
The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna (Faber and Faber) - British; 2nd Novel
Great House by Nicole Krauss (Viking) - American; 3rd Novel
The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone (Chatto & Windus) - American; 3rd Novel
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) - Serbian/American; 1st Novel
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (Viking) - American; 1st Novel
Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile (Serpent's Tail) - British; 1st Novel
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (Chatto & Windus) - American; 1st Novel
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin (Serpent's Tail) - British/Nigerian; 1st Novel
The Swimmer by Roma Tearne (Harper Press) - British; 4th Novel
Annabel by Kathleen Winter (Jonathan Cape) - Canadian; 1st Novel
(Info taken from the Orange prize
homepage)
After
Farmlane Books and
nomadreader announced their predictions for this year's list, I went through to see how many I'd read, and was contemplating reading in the future. Upon seeing these, and following the announcement of the official list, I've realized I have a lot of reading to do. Out of the 20 titles chosen, I've only completed one novel, Emma Donoghue's
Room. And I managed to complete only half of Nicole Krauss's
Great House, before I realized I was in over my head with reading obligations and haven't picked it up since. Shame.
While I'm sure all are terrific, there are so many things going on that I'll probably only have the opportunity to pick up a few before the announcement of the shortlist on April 12th.
Some I'll be grabbing from the list:
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
The London Train by Tessa Hadley
The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Read any of these titles? Feel free to share your favorites, thoughts and/or predictions for the short list!
Photo: Taken from the Orange Prize list
page.
Like you, I've only read 'Room', which I really enjoyed. I eventually picked it up after hearing loads about it on Twitter, and am glad I did. But now this has added lots of books to my 'To Read' pile - hopefully I'll get through a few more before the shortlist is announced next month...
ReplyDeleteHaving never read ROOM I probably have no right to say this, but I hope ROOM doesn't win just because it has already gotten so much attention. With that said, I haven't read any on the list but I plan on picking one up before the short list is announced and another after the shortlist is announced. That's why I love this prize so much - it brings all of these women writers to my attention.
ReplyDeleteOrange Prize longlist day is like Christmas for me. I'm in heaven! I've read five of the twenty, and I'll be reading The Tiger's Wife first (it was next on my TBR anyway) and probably The Seas next. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of them but do have several on my TBR...The Invisible Bridge, Room, Great House and A Visit from the Goon Squad.
ReplyDeleteI've read a few reviews on The Tiger's Wife and also Swamplandia and just wasn't sure if I would like them...the fact that they are on this incredible list encourages me to at least give them a try :)
Love the Orange Prize--just because it promotes women writers. And I agree in this discussion, while I really liked Room, I think it's time for other writers to get attention.
ReplyDeleteSad to say I haven't read ANY on this list, however I do have "Great House" sitting on my bookshelf. And I may add a few to my TBR list.
Aside from NR, we've got quite the catch up to do. Glad everyone's so excited about it!
ReplyDeleteThe Orange Prize is my favourite prize (I made an appreciation post about it a while back). I have not read nearly enough of the books this year, so I've bookmarked this page and will be adding to my wishlist very soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to see that you are planning to read Birth of Love - I loved that book! I have been disappointed by many on the list, but I hope that The Invisible Bridge will break my my run of bad luck with the prize list. I look forward to comparing notes on the books.
ReplyDeleteI hated Room so I hope it does not take the prize. I just got Goon Squad, so I'll be reading that one soon enough. And I'm looking forward to The Tiger's Wife and Great House. I'll have a look at some of other titles to see what else catches my eye. Seems like a great list of books (with the exception of Room).
ReplyDelete