15 if you haven’t done it already ✨
hiii thank you so much for asking! this one's a really interesting question.
15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women's Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?
i consulted goodreads to see what awards these books won.
'paradais' by fernanda melchor - was in the international booker prize longlist in 2022. this was one was amazing. very raw, visceral prose. originally written in spanish, it's a novella that talks about toxic masculinity and misogyny among youth in mexico. it's quite a disturbing read so all the trigger warnings apply for this one.
'elena knows' by claudia piñeiro - was shortlisted for the international booker prize in 2022. another novella originally written in spanish, this one's about chronic illness, caretaker fatigue, women's bodily autonomy. another read i really loved. nothing could've prepared me for that ending.
'thornhedge' by t. kingfisher - won the hugo award for best novella in 2024. this one was very much an okay read for me. this one's a reimagining of the sleeping beauty story but flipped on its head - what if the princess is sleeping because others have to be protected from her? what if she's the villain? it's a wonderful little story tbh but i had some issues with the world building.
'hunchback' by saou ichikawa - was longlisted for the international booker prize this year. this one reminded me heavily of sayaka murata's writing. the main character is disabled due to a congenital muscle disorder, is a wheelchair and ventilator user and lives in a care home. she spends her days writing erotica online. it's a pretty good exploration of desire, sexuality and autonomy of women with disabilities. the ending was confusing for me so i didn't enjoy it much but it's still a good read.
'circe' by madeline miller - women's prize for fiction nominee in 2019. this is a fictional retelling of the greek myth character, circe. i thought i wouldn't love this as much as i loved 'the song of achilles' but i was wrong. it was amazing and i love love love madeline miller's prose. her prose is like honey - sweet and sumptuous. i love how circe is portrayed in this as fierce and independent but still with a soft heart capable of deep love.
'crush' by richard siken - won the lambda literary award for gay poetry in 2005. best poetry collection i've read in a while. his prose in this is so rushed and almost panicky. i flew through this in an hour and i hope to reread this before the year ends.
this became longer than i thought it would be but i'm so grateful that you asked me something that i could spend a lot of time talking about. i also realized that a lot of my picks this year were books that have been previously short or longlisted for the international booker prize.
thank you if you read till the end <3
