Cover of Unless

Unless

Carol Shields, 2002

Canadian and American novelist, 1935–2003. Won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1998 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995.

Unless is a 2002 novel by Carol Shields. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2002.

  • Critics' Darling

In family saga

On 3 of the 20 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Carol Shields
First published
2002
Length
352 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Feminist, Family saga, Psychological

Is Unless worth reading?

3 of the 20 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts) and the Booker Prize.

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019)ListedSee the list
Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 2002)ShortlistSee the list
Women's Prize for Fiction (winners and shortlists) (Women's Prize Trust, 2003)ShortlistSee the list

Best edition of Unless

The edition we link to is the Harper Perennial paperback (2006), 352 pages.

Publisher
Harper Perennial (paperback, 2006)
Pages
352
ISBN
9780060874407

How critics, prizes and readers rate Unless

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 27% of the points available on prize lists, against 10% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
10%
Prizes
27%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like Unless

If you liked Unless, try The Stone Diaries.

Lists used on this page