There’s no doubt about it – January is a hard month; the holiday magic has faded, New Year’s resolutions have been discarded, and yet, the weather is still dark and dismal. Thankfully, our previous Women’s Prize for Fiction winners and longlisted authors have penned novels that will help you fight back against the January blues! Read on for books that will bring you hope, smiles, and laughter to brighten your days.
Winner of the 1998 Women’s Prize for Fiction
It’s easy to feel adrift at this time of year, with the return to work after the holidays and dreary weather making life feel like a maze. Larry Weller’s whole life feels like a labyrinth, with his job, wife, and passion all coming to him through coincidence or mistake. As time goes on, Larry learns to embrace life’s twists and turns, eventually realising that “getting lost, and then found, seemed the whole point.” Pick up Larry’s Party this January for a contemplative tale of coincidence, love, and an acceptance of life’s unpredictability.
Winner of the 2001 Women’s Prize for Fiction
Harley Savage arrives in the Australian town of Karakarook ready to establish a heritage centre for the dying town. Douglas Cheeseman arrives with orders to demolish the town’s only real attraction, the dilapidated Bent Bridge. The pair grow closer as their dispute over whether to keep or destroy the bridge heightens, but a seed of romance neither Harley nor Douglas expects is blossoming. Grenville’s dry humour and resilient characters will leave you laughing and hopeful in spite of the January blues.
Longlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction
When Sheila finds herself troubled by self-doubt, she sets out to find life’s meaning through her art and her friendship with the incredibly successful and alluring Margaux. Along the way, Sheila considers what it means to be beautiful, and learns that the journey can sometimes be more important than the destination. Sharply funny and uncompromising, this book will leave you laughing and more appreciative of the unknowability of life when heading into 2025.
Longlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction
A novel of love, homelessness, and learning to be fearless.
When Daniel arrives at Sherry’s door after years apart, it seems like everything will go back to how it was in the good old days. But things have changed. Set in 2018 and the ‘80s, Flamingo tells the story of two families, divided by years, finally reuniting. This heartwarming tale of love in all its forms will leave you feeling appreciative of those who have cared for you, in the long-gone past and the here and now.
Longlisted for the 2004 Women’s Prize for Fiction
This comic novel will make you laugh at the turn of every page. When an American journalist and mother moves from New York to rural Switzerland with her family, it feels like her life is unravelling. So, when a man appears claiming to be the greatest mind of the eighteenth century, it seems like the last straw. But as she gets to know this talkative intruder, an unlikely friendship forms, and despite the odds, Voltaire teaches our narrator how we can all live life to the fullest.
