Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist 24

An astonishingly moving novel about the connection to be found in family, art and shared resistance 'A moving and important novel' Namwali SerpellAfter years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. While Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.When Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertrude's lines in classical Arabic with a dedicated group of men who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, all want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer and the warring intensifies, it becomes clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite story of the connection to be found in family and shared resistance.'Beautifully written, poignant yet forceful, thoughtful and thought provoking' Azar Nafisi

Read more less

A DAILY MAIL NOVEL OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR BEST FICTION IN THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS AUSTRALIA 2024Dolly Maunder is born at the end of the nineteenth century, when society's long-locked doors are just starting to creak ajar for determined women. Growing up in a poor farming family in rural New South Wales, Dolly spends her life doggedly pushing at those doors. A husband and two children do not deter her from searching for love and independence.Restless Dolly Maunder is a subversive, triumphant tale of a pioneering woman working her way through a world of limits and obstacles, who is able - despite the cost - to make a life she could call her own.

Read more less

AS HEARD ON FRONT ROW, A SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN AND FT 'SUMMER READ''My favourite book I've read this year' PANDORA SYKES 'Intense, furious, moving and often extremely funny' DAVID NICHOLLS'Astonishing' Stephanie Merritt, Observer'Very, very funny' PAUL MURRAYIn one of the most acclaimed novels of the year, her first in over a decade, Claire Kilroy takes us deep into the mind of her unforgettable heroine.Exploring the clash of fierce love for a new life with a seismic change in identity, she vividly realises the tumultuous emotions of a new mother. As her marriage strains and she struggles with questions of love, autonomy creativity and the passing of time, an old friend makes a welcome return - but can he really offer a lifeline to the woman she used to be?Readers adore Soldier Sailor:***** 'About as perfect a piece of writing as you'll find.'***** 'Unbearably tense and frequently hilarious.'***** 'An entirely different voltage to anything I've read ... she somehow manages to verbalise *exactly* the feelings and thoughts I, certainly, had at points when I was a young mother'***** 'This story touched me on such a visceral level.'***** 'I was held captive by this novel ... an utterly absorbing depiction of motherhood'***** 'I loved this book. Any woman, with or without children, will see themselves mirrored in this narrative'***** 'An excellent, interesting and rather unforgettable creation.'

Read more less

A mesmerising reversal of the east–west immigrant narrative set against China’s economic boom, River East, River West is a deeply moving exploration of race, identity and family, of capitalism’s false promise and private dreams. Shanghai, 2007: feeling betrayed by her American mother’s engagement to their rich landlord Lu Fang, fourteen-year-old Alva begins plotting her escape. But the exclusive American School – a potential ticket out – is not what she imagined.Qingdao, 1985: newlywed Lu Fang works as a lowly shipping clerk. Though he aspires to a bright future, he is one of many casualties of harsh political reforms. Then China opens up to foreigners and capital, and Lu Fang meets a woman who makes him question what he should settle for...

Read more less

Carmel had been alone all her life. She had been alone since she was twelve years old. The baby knew all this. They looked at each other, and all of time was there. The baby knew how vast her mother's loneliness had been.A generational saga and contemporary meditation on daughterhood and motherhood, from the Booker Prize-winning Irish author'One of our greatest living novelists' THE TIMES'The unofficial rock star of literary fiction' IRISH TIMES'One of the most significant writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMESNell - funny, brave and so much loved - is a young woman with adventure on her mind. As she sets out into the world, she finds her family history hard to escape. For her mother, Carmel, Nell's leaving home opens a space in her heart, where the turmoil of a lifetime begins to churn. And across the generations falls the long shadow of Carmel's famous father, an Irish poet of beautiful words and brutal actions.This is a meditation on love: spiritual, romantic, darkly sexual or genetic. A generational saga that traces the inheritance not just of trauma but also of wonder, it is a testament to the glorious resilience of women in the face of promises false and true. Above all, it is an exploration of the love between mother and daughter - sometimes fierce, often painful, but always transcendent.

Read more less

"A heartbreaking exploration of a family fractured by civil war. This beautiful, nuanced novel follows a young doctor caught within conflicting ideologies as she tries to save lives. I couldn't put this book down" BRIT BENNETT, bestselling author of THE VANISHING HALF Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war subsumes Sri Lanka, her dream takes her on a different path as she watches those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their best friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. She must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm?"With immense compassion and deep moral complexity, V. V. Ganeshananthan brings us an achingly moving portrait of individual and societal grief. "I want you to understand," the narrator of BROTHERLESS NIGHT insists, and by the end of this blazingly brilliant novel, we do: that in a world full of turmoil, human connections and shared stories can teach us how - and as importantly, why - to survive" CELESTE NG, bestselling author of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE"Stunningly great" Curtis Sittenfeld, bestselling author of RODHAM, via Twitter

Read more less