9 Books from the Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist I Need to Read
The Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist has dropped. Once again, my TBR pile is quaking under the weight of all the incredible books I need to read. I obviously lack self control like a toddler in a sweet shop. Especially when it comes to anything related to books!
Here are my picks – a wonderful selection of reads which sound utterly compelling and stunning. I genuinely cannot wait to dive in!
Good Girl by Aria Aber
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
I have to read this awesome sounding debut novel!
Good Girl follows an Afghan immigrant growing up in post-war Germany, and from what I’ve heard, it’s beautifully written and devastating in the best way. Definitely one of my most anticipated, exploring themes of cultural beauty standards, shame of heritage and patriarchal burdens. I love it already!
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Published by Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette
A speculative fiction romance about a time-traveling civil servant who falls for a Victorian Arctic explorer? Sign me up. I’m a sucker for anything playing with time, and the reviews so far make this sound incredible.
The idea of a historical figure being plunged into the modern world, and the chaos that promises as well as the complications of a romance thrown in for good measure? I can already feel my feral side coming out!
All Fours by Miranda July
Published by Canongate Books
I have no idea what to expect from this one, but that’s exactly why I want to read it. Supposedly, it’s about a woman going on a midlife road trip and ending up in some weird, horny situations. Ooh er!
I adore a female protagonist who absolutely loses her shit, so I can feel the 5 star review begging to be released!
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Published by Bloomsbury Circus, Bloomsbury Publishing
This book has two ticks on my list because I am that excited. A mysterious hotel where people’s dreams start to literally come true? Say no more.
As a massive dreamer (in every sense of the word) and having had the ability to dream lucidly since I was a wee whipper-snapper, this one has me chomping at the proverbial bit!
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published by 4th Estate, HarperCollins
THE MIND. MEMORIES. EXPLORATION OF GRIEF. Yes. Bloody. Please. Everything about this sounds exquisite – I am going absolutely wild at the prospect of falling into Dream Count’s pages and quite possibly letting it wreck me while I’m at it.
Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell
Published by Scribner, Simon & Schuster
Again, I feel the anxiety and the desperation simply from reading the synopsis of this one – running from a controlling partner, finding the strength and resolve to stay away. The need to protect children from not only their father, but the failing society in which she lives. This sounds like the kind of novel which is going to have me crying, screaming and throwing up. (Hopefully not the later two, but you catch my drift)
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
Published by Fig Tree, Penguin General, Penguin Random House
A novel about art forgery, deception, and a cunning woman playing the game? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Give me all the morally grey protagonists. This one is no doubt going to leave me with a whirlwind of emotions, and I AM HERE FOR IT!
Birding by Rose Ruane
Published by Corsair, Little, Brown Book Group, Hachette
Two women who are seemingly worlds apart? One naive and a little odd, living with her mother while clearly in her midlife? The other noticed for her youth and her past, unable to escape the decisions she made in the 90’s? This sounds like a collision of worlds, two women who have become trapped by their circumstances, never truly living to their full potential. YES PLEASE.
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group, Hachette
This explores faith, identity, and modernity, which are themes I always love unpacking in fiction. From the synopsis, it sounds like it’s going to be deeply personal and beautifully written.
Again, that collision of worlds – on the face of it, so different, but when it comes down to it, not so different at all.
That’s my list! Are any of these on your radar? And if you’ve already read one, let me know what you think- I need to know which one to pick up first!
Until next time,
Your chaotic Bookworm
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