Read Harder Task #3: Read Any Book from the Women’s Prize Shortlist/Longlist/Winner List

Piranesi lives in a magical house, more of a labyrinth, that contains an endless number of rooms. As he explores the house, Piranesi begins talking with a man he calls The Other, who keeps pestering him for more information about something The Other calls The Secret Knowledge. Piranesi doesn’t see anyone else as he wanders around the different rooms, but he begins to suspect there’s a third person somewhere in the house.

Agnes lives in a small English village in the late 1580s. Her husband, a playwright, spends much of his time in London putting on his plays. Her husband’s career begins taking off when their young son, Hamnet, is struck ill by the plague. While many readers may be more familiar with her husband’s story, Agnes’s own life proves just as compelling.

Celeste and Roy spend a night in a hotel to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary when Roy is arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the building. When he’s sent to prison, Roy and Celeste try to keep their marriage together through letters and visits, but will they be able to keep making their marriage work in the face of such odds?

This retelling of Antigone (one of my favorite Greek tragedies) gives the story a whole new feel. Isma finally feels like she can pursue her own dreams in America after looking after her two younger siblings for so long. But when her sister Aneeka calls with the news that their brother has joined an extremist group, Isma must choose whether she goes home to keep delaying her plans for her life or to leave her siblings and follow her dreams.

Lisa McInerney, one of Ireland’s most talented contemporary writers, won the Women’s Prize back in 2016 for The Glorious Heresies. The novel begins when an older woman hits an intruder over the head, killing him. This single event brings together characters across a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. And if you like The Glorious Heresies, there are two more books in the trilogy that are already out and ready for you to read!

In this glorious novel, we meet a young girl who keeps getting glimpses of a renaissance painter in her dreams. In another time, a young artist aspires for renown and acclaim. Smith’s prose, as always, flows across the page, drawing the reader in with every word. Some of the editions of the book have the artist’s story first, while other editions position the girl’s story first. These different editions create two unique reading experiences.

Before its TikTok fame, The Song of Achilles, won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. In this retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, we experience their relationship from youth to adulthood. As Patroclus narrates their story, it’s difficult not to become more and more attached to the characters as they fall more and more in love with one another.

I adored Robinson’s novel Gilead, so when I picked up Home, I knew I was in for a treat. But I possessed no real understanding of what I was about to read. Home features Jack, the wayward son of a Methodist minister. Robinson’s characters shine, captivating readers on every page.

Zadie Smith’s debut White Teeth launched her career as a major talent, and On Beauty solidified her place as a literary star. On Beauty follows an interracial family in Massachusetts. The novel paints a complex reality for the family, each character possessing their own dreams for their future that often conflict with their family members’ ideas of what the family should be.

Small Island follows a group of characters whose lives weave together and intersect. Hortense Joseph and her husband Gilbert try to make a life together after WWII, but the systemic racism of Britain essentially makes them second-class citizens.