The 17th Orange Prize shortlist was announced this morning. One of the most prestigious literary awards, it’s awarded to a woman who has produced an outstanding work of fiction, and carries a prize of 30,000 pounds.
Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues
Anne Enright, The Forgotten Waltz
Georgina Harding, Painter of Silence (not out in the U.S. until September)
Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles
Cynthia Ozick, Foreign Bodies
Ann Patchett, State of Wonder
Ann Patchett is the only previous winner on the list (she won for Bel Canto in 2002). Madeline Miller is the only debut novelist on the list.
Joanna Trollope, Chair of the judging panel, said that it is “a privilege to present” such a varied list, which includes American, British, Irish and Canadian authors and “an age range of close on half a century.” The winner will be announced on May 30.
What do you think of the shortlist? Do literary prize nominations make you more interested in a book? Check out last year’s longlist for a comparison.
Read State of Wonder when it was first released. Hated it. Then read all the hoopla about it, numerous bestseller lists, etc. Read it again believing that I must surely have missed something. Nope. Didn’t miss a thing. Still hate it. Am looking forward to reading Painter of Silence as soon as it is released in the states.
Sing to me a song of newness and listen, I will… forever. I found myself in a state of wonder on how nakedly obvious this novel is, or rather its author’s execution. Her’s is a rewrite of “Heart Of Darkness.” The comparisons are numerous: plot, characters and backdrop. I Rather think the original a desperate stretching of a short story and so why Ann Patchett would choose this poorly written work as a guide is beyond me and as I write my last word, her construct of replication will be gone from me.
Chris Roberts