Brief Thoughts on the Women’s Prize 2021 Shortlist

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The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021 shortlist was just announced, so I figured I share my thoughts on it quickly. I’ve only managed to read 2 and half(ish) books of the longlist, since I was not prioritizing reading it – I have read Luster and No One Is Talking About This and I absolutely loved both. I am really happy No One Is Talking About This is on the shortlist, and I did not expect to see it at all. I did not even include it in my predictions, so an all-around win. In terms of predictions, I got three out of six, which is not great, and not terrible. I correctly guessed Piranesi, Transcendent Kingdom and The Vanishing Half. I am GUTTED that Detransition, Baby is not on here – I am currently reading it and really enjoying the themes explored in it and how they are explored. I think it definitely merited its place on the shortlist. I am really tempted to read the shortlist now, albeit I find Unsettled Ground terribly off-putting for no particular reason. I will most definitely read Transcendent Kingdom and Piranesi, no matter what I decide on the shortlist reading.

Overall, I think this is a solid shortlist and I think it focuses on most of the books I was already most excited on the longlist, so that’s good. In terms of predicting the winner, I think Transcendent Kingdom has this one in the bag, so it will be interesting to see if that pans out.

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I would love to hear from you – thoughts on the shortlist? How many have you guessed? How many did you read already? Plans to read the shortlist? Let me know!