The winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024 will be announced TOMORROW, June 13th!
My overall ranking of the seven titles I’ve read is as follows, with quotes from my reviews. Shortlisted titles are starred (*):
- *Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan: ‘historical fiction that reads like memoir… immersive, accomplished and painfully moving’
- *Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad: ‘almost too carefully crafted… one to admire, and to learn from, rather than to love’
- *Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy: ‘totally achieves what [it] sets out to do… Unfortunately, for me, what [it] sets out to do just isn’t that interesting’
- The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord: ‘when Lord stays put on Earth, this book is original, thought-provoking and subtle… [but] the brief glimpses we get of the alien civilisations… make them feel much more cartoonish’
- 8 Lives of A Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee: ‘repetitive and unsatisfying, despite some strong sections’
- In Defence of the Act by Effie Black: ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that went so wrong, so quickly, after the three-quarters mark’
- *River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure: ‘this just lacked soul… the plot beats are incredibly predictable (and a bit tragedy porn)’
So, I guess, this looks OK: my top three are all on the shortlist, and I do think they deserve to be there, even if I feel a bit begrudging in the case of Soldier Sailor (but this book is not for me). Yet this is definitely one of the weaker Women’s Prize longlists I’ve encountered, in a year that saw some exceptionally strong fiction written by women.
Who do I want to win? And who do I think will win? If it hadn’t already won the Carol Shields Prize, my money would be 100% on Brotherless Night. Not only is it my preferred winner, my cynical self believes it’s an easy way for the Prize to recognise timely themes of oppression and internal resistance without making the political statement of choosing Enter Ghost. But although the Women’s Prize hasn’t shied away from picking winners of other prizes before (see: Demon Copperhead), I feel like picking the exact same book as your main rival would be a bit much. So, I’m really not sure! Maybe Kilroy or Enright will take it. Let’s go with…
Who do you want to win the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024? And who do you think will win?
EDIT 13th June: And the winner is…
The Women’s Prize saw their dilemma and decided to say, f*** the Carol Shields Prize, we’re going for it anyway. Good work Women’s Prize. This is the first time my favourite book from the shortlist has won since 2017.
Laura Tisdall 
I think Soldier Sailor has a strong chance. Brotherless Night does give the opportunity to acknowledge political struggle without appearing as political as the choice of Enter Ghost would, though… Obviously if Lescure wins, you won’t be too happy!
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Oh god I did consider this… but it’s had such a lukewarm reception among reviewers that I can’t imagine anyone really pushing for it. I’m hoping it was already a compromise choice for the shortlist.
Yes, I would 100% be predicting Brotherless Night if it wasn’t for the CSP. I think it still has a good shot.
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Let’s really, really hope so. I think I would also be disappointed by a win for The Wren, The Wren (because I’ve read half a dozen reviews and still have no notion what the book is really about, apart from a vague idea that the narrator’s bad father is a poet), and Restless Dolly Maunder, which just doesn’t seem to be pushing any boundaries.
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I would be VERY surprised if Grenville took it. I think that’s the least likely outcome.
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The Enright is a totally capable but strangely soulless dysfunctional family novel about said poet + his daughter + his young adult granddaughter.
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This is how I feel about all her work, though I know you said The Green Road is better. I wouldn’t hate it if she won as I do think she is a very skilful and thoughtful writer.
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You don’t mince words with your pithy (pissy, even?) one-liners here, Laura – but at least I thought they told me what I ought to know should I get round to any of these! It’ll be interesting to see what does win and whether you called it right. 🙂
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I am generally very good at predicting the WP shortlist and absolutely terrible at predicting the winner, so we’ll see!
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Your reading of the situation is spot on. I bet there’s much annoyance that the CSP pipped them to Brotherless Night. Initially I picked out Enter Ghost as the winner from the longlist (well before having read it), but I’m less sure as time goes on. I think Enright most likely from the rest, as she’s a venerable author they’ve longlisted twice and shortlisted three times but not recognized with the Prize yet. As with Ozeki, I’d consider it a sort of lifetime achievement award for her body of work even though The Wren, The Wren is not among her best novels.
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Oh god I imagine they were quite unhappy about that!!
I just don’t think they’re brave enough to go for Enter Ghost. I hope I’m wrong.
You could very well be right about Enright. I plumped for Soldier Sailor because it’s obviously SO deeply resonated with so many readers and I can imagine that at least some of the judges are equally emotionally attached to it. But Enright feels like the sort of prizewinner that could be everybody’s second choice if we assume they can’t pick Brotherless Night or Enter Ghost.
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I wonder to what extent sales and popular response affects their decision making. Enright has sold the best of the nominees, while you’re right that Kilroy appears to be a reader favourite (resonating especially with all the young mums, I suppose!).
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I’ve just reserved Brotherless Night at the library: it seems to be getting a positive press, not just from you. Soldier Sailor might have made my list – not sure. But though I enjoyed the Grenville, because she’s always readable, it got no higher than a good yarn well told. Though there’s nothing damning in that I guess! I’ve yet to tackle anything else.
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It really is very good – though not my favourite eligible novel this year! And yes – I actually think it’s a shame when novels like the Grenville get on prize lists, because it makes it harder to appreciate them for what they are.
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