Three American novelists make it to the Orange Prize shortlist
by sernabad
In an announcement made this morning in London, we have learned that half of this year's Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist candidates are Americans.
The Orange Prize, established in 1996 to celebrate women fiction writers around the world, is based in England.
Madeline Miller made the list for The Song of Achilles, her much-lauded retelling of the Trojan War, focusing on the boyhood friendship between Achilles and Patroclus that depends into passionate love amidst the horrors of war.
Cynthia Ozick got the nod for Foreign Bodies. In another retelling, this time of the much-loved classic (Henry James' The Ambassadors), Ozick sets her novel in 1952 New York where middle-aged schoolteacher, Bea, is summoned to Paris by her estranged wealthy brother to search for his nephew. This gives a whole new meaning to "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Ann Patchett was tapped for, no surprise, State of Wonder. Marina Singh, a research scientist for a big pharma company, is sent to the Amazon to search for a dead colleague and a difficult former mentor. Imaginative, demanding, and compelling, Patchett is a serious contender.
For a complete list of all the shortlisted nominees, check here.
The Orange Prize for Fiction, which comes with a purse of £30,000, will be announced May 30th in London.
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