This Week in Books, 4th Ed.

When the longlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction was announced this week, I saw that two of the nominations are shelved in the TBR library. Not only that, but my current read, The Bees, by Laline Paull, was a shortlisted finalist for the award in 2015.So I wanted to know more.

                                                                   Photo from Women's Prize website
 The judges with their selection of the 16 books longlisted 

The award, dubbed one of the most prestigious in the UK, is given annually for the best novel written in English by a woman of any nationality.

Book awards in the UK have interesting logistics. First off, they announce a longlist, about a dozen to 18 novels of the best of the best. About six weeks later (April 29 this year for the Women's Prize) comes the shortlist, with the top five books becoming finalists. After a buildup, a ceremony is held to announce and honor the winner (June 5, 2019). The Man Booker and other awards use a similar method.

It's sort of the way the Oscars are heralded, and it's nice to see literary awards get the attention they deserve.

Such lists also are a great method to find new novels one might otherwise overlook. For years, I've used the Man Booker lists and found great novels written from different perspectives. The search will now include the longlist and shortlist of the Women's Prize, which seeks out and honors women writers from around the world.

"Written by women. For Everyone" is its motto. Previous winners include Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2007, The Song of Archilles, by Madeine Miller in 2012, The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver in 2010, and last year's top novel, Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie.


I have read two books on this year's longlist. Circe is the story of a minor Greek goddess, the daughter of the Titan sun god Helios. Because she is the goddess of witchcraft, she is banished to a deserted island. Here, Miller tells the story from Circe's perspective, including her meetings with Greek gods and heroes, such as the stories of the Minotaur, Medea, Icarus and his doomed flight to the sun, and one of her lovers, Odysseus. I read it last year at a time I was not keeping up with this blog, so I have not written a review. But it is top rate.

Milkman also tells its story from the perspective of its main character, a teen-age girl growing up in a split community very much like a 1980s version of Northern Ireland. My review is here.




Before I wrote this blog post, I went for a four-mile run to clear the head and think. It was cold, 20 degrees when I started -- that's seven below for you guys outside the United States.


 Also, it started to snow.