The six shortlisted books vying for the prestigious award have now been announced.
It’s one of the biggest fiction awards of the year, with the likes of Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ali Smith and last year’s winner, Kamila Shamsie having all previously claimed the gong.
Now the Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist 2019 has been shared, ahead of the winner being announced on June 5.
This is what you need to know about each…
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books)
This is one funny book, but not in a ha-ha, laugh-out-loud manner. It’s more in its ability to trigger the feeling (particularly if you are blessed with sisters) that, yes, you can totally imagine getting a call like the one Korede gets from her sibling, Ayoola. And yes, you’d probably have to help if called upon. Ayoola, the beauty, has stabbed her boyfriend – that’ll be the third she’s killed now – but conscientious, loyal Korede is well prepared for the clean-up job. What she’s not prepared for is the newly ‘bereaved’ Ayoola then taking an interest in her rather attractive doctor colleague, Tade. The Lagos-set drama is deftly written, as pointy and sleek as Ayoola’s blade, with Braithwaite incrementally winding up the uneasiness, all the while making you question, along with Korede, the motives of the people you love. Read more