The Booker Prize 2024 shortlist features books that explore the gravitational pull of home and family (All photos: The Booker Prize)
Bookworms and feminists, listen up — the 2024 Booker Prize Shortlist has officially been announced and this year’s lineup makes history, with the largest number of women authors in the award’s 55-year history.
Selected from the 156 publications released between October 2023 and September 2024, five of the six shortlisted tomes were penned by women, with notable names such as Anne Michaels, Percival Everett and Samantha Harvey in the mix. In addition, five countries are represented, with the Netherlands making its maiden placement.
James by Everett retells the tales of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of Jim, a runaway slave who joins in on the great adventures. Meanwhile, the other US contender, Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner follows a female American spy on her mission to infiltrate a French anarchist collective. This is the second time both American writers have been nominated for the award.
Also on the list is UK-based Samantha Harvey’s Orbital. The literary fiction novel takes readers to outer space with six astronauts as they orbit earth for the last space station mission, diving into themes of humanity, the environment and creation.
Not only women were honoured in the shortlist; so were some of the books. Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel The Safekeep explores the depth of female relationships through the story of a young woman in Nazi-era Netherlands whose life is turned upside down when a guest comes to stay at her country home. In Stone Yard Devotional, Charlotte Wood writes about a middle-aged woman who abandons her marriage and city life to join a convent as she confronts questions about morality, grief and vindication.
Last but not least, Anne Michael’s Held is a heart-warming and wrenching family saga that spans four generations. It is the first Australian entry to make the shortlist in a decade.
This article first appeared on Sept 23, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
