women ´s prize 2026, shorlisted 

Rozie Kelly: Kingfisher 

Maria Hutchinson: The Mercy Step 

I have been reading along (mainly( the shortlist of 2026 Women ´s Prize for Fiction and now the latest two being the Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly and The Mercy Step by Maria Hutchinson. The Mecy Step I listened as an audioversion and oh boy that was a good choice !!! The read was by the writer Maria Hutchinson herself she was as if she was born to read that book! I laughed, I might have shed a tear or two but the most best part listening to it was that as it is written from the point of view of a child, it felt more real, even though the reader being an adult. Sometimes it is difficult for me to adjust myself to the text of an infant, often times I do not even like nor I prefer it but in this case, from not even born yet up till 11 years of age, the story of this girl was so very real and movin. More over, the one most present aspect was that Hutchinson ´s language, the tones of it really came alive when heard as it was a lot in Jamaican English. 

Loved loved loved it 

Also, Kingfisher, that was a beautiful, well written story of love, friendship, poetry, writing, memories but mostly, for me it was about death but the book, it was not dark, overly sad but a well written story, but if I were to compare these two, I would say, more "novelty", more new points of views (for me, at least) came out of The Mercy Step.