Levy novel: ‘Best of the Best’

Andrea Levy’s “Small Island,” which won the 2004 Orange Prize for fiction by women, was named Best of the Best of the award’s first 10 years.

The novel, which addresses racial issues in post-World War II Britain, prevailed over such works as “Larry’s Party” by Carol Shields, which won in 1998, “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett, the 2002 winner, and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver, this year’s winner.

The Best of the Best award celebrates “10 years of exceptional women’s fiction” and provides a “great opportunity to introduce a new generation of readers to some of the outstanding novels they may have missed first time around,” said Kate Mosse, co-founder and honorary director of the prize.

The annual Orange Prize, given to the best novel by a woman, written in English, carries a $52,600 prize and a bronze figurine. Levy, born in the United Kingdom in 1956 to Jamaican parents, received a silver figurine for the Best of the Best award. The prize was judged by the heads of the award’s previous judging panels.