70 classic Booker Prize-nominated novels, recommended by our readers
From books that changed the world to contemporary works that are certain to endure, these are your must-read classics from the Booker Library
Nine Booker-nominated books that present a range of experiences of motherhood
From loving mothers to estranged families, discover our list of books, nominated for the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize, that show motherhood in all its forms
Among the 600+ books that have been nominated for the Booker Prizes over the years there are many that focus on the relationships between mothers and their children, from a variety of perspectives. The following list of Booker- and International Booker-nominated books doesn’t shy away from the unvarnished reality of family life, with this list offering a mix of the loving and the unpredictable, the wise and the chaotic. Not all of the women in these books are likely to win a Mother of the Year prize any time soon, but all are hugely memorable literary creations.
The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman, translated by Leslie Camhi
Originally published in French and longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, Violaine Huisman’s debut novel, The Book of Mother, is a fictionalised memoir of the author’s childhood as she navigates life with her unpredictable and chaotic mother. Catherine ‘smokes too much, drives too fast, laughs too hard and loves too extravagantly’ – she is a force of nature in her children’s world, becoming increasingly dependent on her two daughters as she struggles to function. The novel is divided into three parts: it chronicles Huisman’s complicated relationship with her mother as a child, then Catherine’s traumatic life story, before ending with Huisman looking back and reflecting on her mother’s life. While deeply flawed, reckless and often neglectful, Catherine suffers from poor mental health which results in several hospital stays and a diagnosis of manic depression. Leslie Camhi has said that writing the book was a way to make her mother ‘live again’.
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My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Recovering from a routine surgery, Lucy Barton’s estranged mother decides to visit her in hospital, staying by her bedside for five days. Her visit forces Lucy to reminisce on her life in the small town of Amgash, Illinois, as well as contemplate her future. She looks back on a childhood filled with isolation, abuse and poverty, and considers her life now – she lives and works in New York as a successful writer with two daughters. Lucy ponders her own role as a mother and questions whether her own mother truly loves her, having never quite felt the care and affection for which she yearned. While Lucy’s mother is reserved and stoic, Lucy herself tries hard to have a close and loving relationship with her mother – and her children. This introspective and powerful short novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2016.
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Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund
Is Mother Dead follows Johanna, an artist who is recently widowed, and who returns to her home city of Oslo for a retrospective exhibition of her artwork. After trying to contact her estranged family, Johanna starts stalking her elderly, emotionally unavailable mother, and seeking some sort of closure. Longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2023, the book explores the complexities of a toxic mother-daughter relationship as pride, humiliation and resentment envelop the two women. According to Kirkus, ‘[Johanna] is compelling in her desire to understand what it means to be a fully grown woman and yet still need your mother.’ In the Guardian, Susie Mesure wrote: ‘The question of what children owe their parents and vice versa lies at the heart of this raw novel.’
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Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The 2020 Booker Prize winner, Shuggie Bain, follows the life of Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain throughout his poverty-stricken childhood in Glasgow in the 1980s. A heartbreaking novel that revolves around the love between a damaged mother and her son, Shuggie Bain explores what happens when the parent-child relationship collapses and is then reversed. After Shuggie’s father leaves, Agnes spirals into alcoholism, neglecting her three children, while still taking a deep pride in her appearance publicly. As she becomes more incapable of daily tasks, Shuggie takes on more and more responsibility. And even though Agnes struggles to rid herself of her addictions, her love for Shuggie – as he struggles with his own identity – can be clearly seen as she tries to provide him with something he truly needs: hope.
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Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman
A mammoth book spanning over 1,000 pages, Ducks, Newburyport explores the inner workings of an unnamed Ohio housewife and mother of four, who provides musings on her mundane life, her anxieties, memories and the people around her. A dutiful mother, she spends most of her time caring for her children – and their story of her ordinary life is set against that of a mountain lion and her cubs, a metaphor for the woman’s relationship with her children. The narrator also provides insight into her relationship with her own mother and her struggles with grief after her mother died young. The book was shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize, and The Australian said that ‘Ellmann encapsulates existence in the 21st century, its dimensions and its contours, while offering an intense portrait of motherhood, of mothering and of being mothered.’
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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Sharing (controversially) the top spot for the 2019 Booker Prize with Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, Girl, Woman, Other explores an array of female experiences across multiple generations. Evaristo includes four sets of mothers and daughters, each with their own unique relationships and observations of the world. There’s rebellious theatre director Amma and her strong-minded daughter, Yazz, who butt heads over their respective beliefs. Business owner Bummi just wants the best for her daughter Carole, while Winsome is puzzled by her daughter Shirley’s constant state of unhappiness. The story also goes back a generation as Grace, born in the early 1900s, is left orphaned and grows up in a home for girls. As first-generation immigrants, many of these mothers just want their daughters to take advantage of opportunities that were not afforded to them.
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Room by Emma Donoghue
A novel that shows the expanse of maternal love under brutal circumstances, Room was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2010. The book is narrated by five-year-old Jack, who lives in a ten-by-ten foot room with his Ma. Jack believes that what’s inside this ‘Room’ is the only reality, unaware of what lies outside. Despite their terrible plight, Ma is determined to make Jack’s life as normal as possible, keeping him happy and healthy without divulging the events that have led them to their current situation. She keeps him entertained, creating poems and making up stories to get through the day. According to the Guardian, ‘Jack’s tale is more than a victim-and-survivor story: it works as a study of child development, shows the power of language and storytelling, and is a kind of sustained poem in praise of motherhood and parental love.’
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Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches
A woman nicknamed ‘Boulder’ becomes an unreluctant mother after she falls in love with another woman, Samsa, who decides that she wants to have a child before it’s too late. As newborn Tinna enters the world, Boulder finds Samsa becoming more distant, prioritising motherhood over their relationship. Finding herself on a largely unwanted journey, Boulder must decide whether her love for Samsa will override her need for freedom. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2023, the book explores the pressures of motherhood and how the dynamics of a relationship changes. As Eva Baltasar says, ‘Motherhood is not a double-sided coin. It’s more complex, polyphonic, and, like all relationships, it is alive, in motion.’
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Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey
Still Born explores the complex decisions women make when deciding to bear children. Shortlisted, along with Boulder, for the International Booker Prize in 2023, the novel explores complex experiences of motherhood, which encompass joy, grief, ambivalence and more. Alina and Laura are two friends in their mid-thirties, ambitious and independent, and had both been unsure of whether children would be in their futures. As time passes Alina changes her mind and becomes pregnant, facing unforeseen challenges along the way. Laura, instead, resolute in not caving to societal pressures of motherhood, decides to get her tubes tied. But maternal instincts seem to become uncovered after Laura forms an attachment to her neighbour’s son. As Alina comes to terms with her new reality, her thoughts start to spiral as she acknowledges what her own version of motherhood may look like.
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