Previous Finalists

'A gripping story of five woman battling to be everything they can be. Written with a gold-tipped pen and highly recommended!' The Wishing Shelf


There are so many aspects to Woman which are excellent that I hardly know where to begin. Firstly, the characters. Here is the strength of this set of five shorts. The author is capable at describing setting and developing the characters but without being overly flowery. The author also knows her characters very, very well; this shows in the consistent and very individual way they act. This is not a plot-driven story; it's character-driven. In this book, the characters are the jam which holds everything together. I was particularly taken by the girl in Cameroon and the terrible thing her mother did to her. Evans not only did a wonderful job of helping the girl character to jump of the page, but also the mother.
There is a lot of self-discovery going on in this set of shorts, as the author deftly jumps from character to character, from a Somali woman to a woman in Greece, showing the reader just a peek at what many women might face there. I must say, it is very well-written. It can get a little drawn out here and there, slowing the pacing slightly. But, overall, it's insightful and very much helps the reader to not only understand the (often downtrodden) women, but also start to care about what happens to them. The author also understands how important 'speech' is to not only develop the characters, but also the plot. In fact, every story is a perfectly balanced mix of 'speech' and 'a well-paced plot'.
All in all, this is a gem of a book. It is also hard-hitting, laying bare the brutality faced by many women all over the world. There is the odd lighter moment – but not many – and much of it is a sobering read. But what women face often is sobering, and this book reflects that.
I would happily recommend this short book to anybody who enjoys a character-led story. Also, anybody interested in human rights, in particular, women's rights, I think will find this of interest.

To Sum Up
Hard-hitting, stimulating and well-constructed.

A 'Wishing Shelf' Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk