2024: Women’s Prize

Families are at the heart of the Women’s Prize shortlist this year, in particular the role of mothers and daughters who are adapting to personal or societal change. The six female leads in the shortlisted novels have treasured but complex relationships with their families that must be carefully navigated as they attempt to overcome upheaval and strive for better.

Their traumas are inherited or forced upon them by circumstance and we as readers are given the opportunity to examine and understand their pains in ways that hit home hard. Each protagonist exhibits resilience, fortitude and acceptance as they overcome adversity.

The settings in which these characters are placed are either real or carefully crafted as to be identifiable. It’s a shortlist of realism, there is no fantasy, sci fi or magical elements in this year’s shortlist, rather admirable hours of research and the portrayal of experiences lived by the authors. It feels like a deeply personal shortlist this year.

Again, the Women’s Prize attracted us with the focus on the female experience and what a diverse range of women’s experience we were presented with. We may have not bonded with every book on the list, but we appreciate the examination of women’s strength from across the ages and across the world and across a range of contexts.

If we let disaster stand in our way we will never do anything. Every day here is a disaster [Enter Ghost]

● Rachel: I had mixed reactions across the individual titles this year but what I did appreciate about the shortlist as a collection was the respectful treatment of the characters and their plights, for they represent the plights of women everywhere. The authors have furnished their female leads with strength as well as flaws, they have explained societal and familial influences on their lives, they have provided context and accountability for their actions. They have provided them successes as well as failures along with the complexities of personality and lived experiences that shape how we view the world. They have made them seen.

It made me realise how often this respect is not afforded to female characters, and how in fact some authors rely on female suffering for the success of their book. I think this year’s Women’s Prize shortlist will change the way I select books in the future and how readily I DNF!

As far as a winner goes, I’d like to pick a two way tie between Enter Ghost and Brotherless Night. Both were spellbinding, taught me lots and made me feel many emotions. However, I will abide by the Suzy And Rachel’s Women’s Prize Judging Rules which, if they existed, I’m sure would stipulate: no ties for winner. So I’ll back Enter Ghost for the win. But to be honest I wouldn’t mind if any of my top five were to win.

My rankings:
1. Enter Ghost
2. Brotherless Night
3. River East, River West
4. The Wren, The Wren
5. Soldier Sailor
6. Restless Dolly Maunder

Imagine the places you grew up, the places you studied, places that belonged to your people, burned. But I should stop pretending that I know you. Perhaps you do not have to imagine. Perhaps your library, too, went up in smoke. [Brotherless Night]

● Suzy: This shortlist felt strangely disjointed with such divergent subject matters that had us leaping from rural Australia in the 1800s to Sri Lanka in the 1980s. 

While there were some great reads the standout for me was Brotherless Night. It was a truly outstanding book that has somehow changed my outlook on so many things. It’s historical fiction at its absolute best.

My rankings:
1. Brotherless Night 
2. Soldier, Sailor
3. The Wren, The Wren 
4. River East, River West 
5. Enter Ghost
6. Restless Dolly Maunder