Having concluded "Watching Women & Girls," I find myself somewhat underwhelmed. Pender's narrative held promise, yet failed to delve deep into its potential. The characters' inner lives remained enigmatic, leaving an unsatisfying aftertaste. While the prose showed moments of grace, the overall impact felt insipid. Perhaps my expectations were misguided, but I anticipated a more resonant exploration of the human experience. Alas, this work left me wanting.

This is a vastly accomplished short story collection - I loved every single story but Women of Pret will definitely stay with me for a long time, I love the way Danielle skillfully builds characters you can imagine meeting. I'd definitely recommend!

Wonderful collection of short stories.A collection touching on young women’s lives fleeting moments in each story that catch your attention.Well written involving from beginning to end.#netgalley #4thestate

Interesting collection of short stories focusing on the different experiences of women. I was super intrigued by some of the stories and was eye opening to read these stories. Even though we all see these issues and aim to tackle them, reading them in this capacity has been super interesting.

Excellent contemporary fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Interesting collection of short stories that focus on the lives of women and girls. I think I had too high of expectations going into this one as I had seen everyone raving about it, and I didn't feel any overwhelming way towards it. The stories haven't stayed in my mind unfortunately but I will read more from the author.

A brilliant collection of stories focusing on young women and their relationships with themselves (particularly their bodies) and others. I feel like this brief synopsis could describe a whole host of short story collections I've read in recent years, so believe me when I say that this one felt so bang on (at least for me, anyway) in respect of how it feels to be a millennial woman in the UK in 2022. Pender articulated feelings I hadn't even been able to put in to words myself, and when that happens in fiction you know something pretty great has taken place. Highly recommended!

I recently read ghost lover and found this to be quite similar but on the whole a lot more accessible. I liked the stories set in the uk best and really enjoyed how the author captured elements of ordinary life and what it’s like to be a woman. The characters were generally quite relatable too.
Some of the stories I struggled to see the point to and at times the book felt a little meandering rather than purposeful. On the whole though, would recommend. Read through netgalley for an honest review

This is a super readable collection of short stories, linked by their female subjects. They are fleeting stories of ordinary lives made interesting by the details a casual observer wouldn’t normally have access to. I loved it.

I received a digital copy of this book as an arc via Netgalley. Thank you to 4th Estate Publishing for this.

Pender writes a book of short stories, each an exploration into the lives of women of varying ages, backgrounds and ethnicities. She delves into the good, the bad and the ugly, with insights into the dark inner lives, and unique relations in the lives of women today.

I really enjoyed this read. Each short story was different and intriguing. Fans of Sally Roony will enjoy this.

The title was an instant grab for me. It seemed like an interesting concept, that was until i read the first story. This put me off the entire collection. It was contrite and filled with cliches and repetitive metaphors which just made it all the more boring and irritating. Also the ongoing sexual descriptions may put a person off reading this as it kept going from mediocre to just pornographic imagery from the early 60's. Not a collection worth reading

A strange, unsettling, yet ultimately enjoyable collection of short stories. I was drawn into each one, and appreciated that none were so convoluted or complicated that I forgot or muddled up the characters. Pender's choice of subject matter is often brave, as she addresses taboos and explores the depths of people's psyche, habits, and actions. I got many Ottessa Moshfegh vibes, and am interested to see what Pender's first novel might look like.

Thank you to Netgalley and to 4th Estate for giving me this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love short stories - but I find they either blow me away or leave me sorely disappointed. This collection was definitely the former. I RACED through this book (finishing it within a day), and couldn't get enough of the characters Pender created and of her writing. I can't believe this is a debut! Love love loved, I recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Watching Women and Girls by Danielle Pender is a collection of short stories about relationships, parenting, life.

I thought this collection of short stories was wonderful. Pender writes with such talent that each main character is relatable, despite the vastness of their stories. I often found myself wishing each story had been much longer, but, in retrospect, I was simply being greedy; these stories are perfectly formed. As with all collections like this, some stand out more than others. My personal favourites were 'Junction 64', 'The Cat', 'Single Serve' and 'Self Portrait'. Bonus points for the Laura Callaghan cover!

A fantastic collection of short stories. While I preferred some to others, generally this overall was a great read and one I devoured over a weekend. Highly recommend!

3***

I didn’t realise this was a short story collection going in.
But as with most short stories I preferred some stories over others.

However, the thing I did enjoy about this collection was it’s exploration into all of these women and the different stages of their life. I like the unflinching realness of all of these women with their different situations, their insecurities, wants, and messiness described on these pages. From relationships with lovers, to their. co-workers and family, to extra-marital affairs , to their own bodies, this explored it all.

I enjoyed the changes in language and the lexicon as well to show the geographical locations of these women- loved the different accents.

I also really seem to be enjoying the more introspective short stories.

This book is a collection of short stories taking a dive into the lives of different female characters and their lives and the workings of their minds and the events played out in their lives. Very immersive and profound in nature, this is a book that everyone should and must read.

Five stars really aren't enough for this. It's absolutely brilliant.

A fantastic collection of short stories which are perfectly encapsulated windows, snapshots into the events and thoughts of some very different women living very different lives