This was fun, light read based on 4 women working in a department store in Sydney. I enjoyed the four making characters which was a relief because that was what the story is completely based around. This book would be great for a book club read because it’s light and airy that allows many people to connect with and have good conversations about.

This is a slice of life novel about four women working in a Sydney department store in the 1950s. There honestly isn't much of a plot - it' all about the characters. This is a good one if you're looking for something light . It is, btw, a reissue, likely in concert with a 2018 movie titled Ladies in Black. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

I needed something lighter to read for a change and The Women in Black fit the bill perfectly. The story is set in 1950's Australia about a group of women that work in a department store. The women are all in different stages of life. Lisa, the youngest, is a temp and Magda, an older woman, takes Lisa under her wing and helps her become less shy and more confident. There really wasn't a plot but more of a day on the life of four different women over a couple months. It's a quick read. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are looking for a light diversion on a dreary afternoon, this might be a great book for you. It wasn't incredibly engaging and felt more like an extended version of a woman's magazine from the same 1950's era. The characters were lightly developed and only a few weeks were covered in the story line. The book was written by an Australian about women working in a department store in Australia so currency and women's sizing were totally foreign to me. I didn't hold that against the book but in parts it did provide some confusion.

While I was disappointed that this book was originally published back in 1993, I was more disappointed that this book which had the potential to dive deep into 4 women's lives in Australia back in the 1950's, stayed instead at the surface and did not dive deep into any of the 4 characters.

Matriarch Magda, the most developed character in the book, still has no backstory, no conflict, no depth. There is no reason why Patty's husband is how he is, why he leaves, why she even married him. Fay, the social party girl, has no reasoning why she is - has she come from a place of abuse where she feels like she needs constant attention from men or is she a hopeless romantic? And Lisa/Lesley, the one with the most potential - why is her father so against her moving forward to University?

It is more of a brief look into the working lives of 4 woemn at a department store in the madness leading up to Christmas more than a novel - its an extended short story that doesn't go anywhere and ends abruptly.

The Women in Black is about four coworkers in Goode's lady's clothing department in 1950's Sydney.   I love ensemble novels, historical novels and even stories set in Australia, so I expected to really love this one. The interactions and relationships of  random strangers who become coworkers and friends can be a  perfect slice-of-life novel.

But overall, this was ... fine. I don't know if I built it up too much in my head, because the description just sounded so good. But I found everything just slightly dull and flat. There was a real lack of tension, and I quite like domestic dramas where the tension is quiet and personal, but there just wasn't any tension here. Each of the women has a very clear, stated goal, with no ambivalence and no complications. Over the course of the book, each of them -- spoiler! -- achieves her goal with a minimum of fuss, setbacks or personal growth. And it's really that fuss, those setbacks and most of all those complicated relationships that make a story lively and realistic.

Thank you to Scribner and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. This is the story of several ladies who worked at a Department Store named Goode's in 1950's Sydney, Australia. The premise of this story was great, but there just didn't seem to be enough connection between the characters and the story. The plot just wasn't deep enough for me. I liked it, but didn't love it.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Women in Black is the story of a group of coworkers in Sydney circa 1950s working in the cocktail and gown department of Goode's department store. They are all dealing with complicated issues outside of the job with husband drama, coming of age looking to go to university or trying to establish their romantic or social statuses.

This book is a light easy read and I loved the concept but the delivery wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for. The set up of a story revolving around close-nit coworkers with differing personal struggles drew me to the novel. However, there is no plot and the character development is thin and pretty predictable.

This book was something of a puzzle. Originally written in 1993, it was set in Australia in the 1950s, and the book has the *feel* of the 1950s, as well. It's hard to describe, but the narration has an air of self-awareness that I have only seen in older books.

Though there are only four main characters, there are another ten or so significant characters, and there was very little overlap in most of their stories. Honestly, I found myself losing track of some of the story lines. This is a perfectly fine book, and most of the stories wrapped up somewhat satisfactorily. I just found the book to be too bland and too forgettable, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, I'm thankful to the author and publisher. They allowed me to preview this book in exchange for my honest opinion. #NetGalley #TheWomenInBlack

I liked this book. Women in Black is a storyline I could get behind, for sure. The writing is a bit dated, but I live watching tv shows from the 5os and as long as I put myself back to that era, I was okay with the story. I am not sure how this will be recieved in the U.S. in 2020 but I liked it well enough.

I really enjoyed this book I found the plot interesting and the characters were engaging and charming can t wait to read more

Set in Australia in the late 1950s in a department store where ladies make up the majority of the workforce. This little book rotates between characters and their different storylines and what is impacting them as they go through the holiday season.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. I think the lack of length stunted the story and with more pages the story archs could have felt more fluid and full. It felt as though just as I was getting involved with one of the characters and their storyline, the chapter would stop and jump to someone else and with the overall book length it felt as though a lot was crammed into just a few pages.

I wish this book had more because I think it needed more especially as the author tried to give a large cast a lot of time to each character and there wasn't one that was solely focused on with a large secondary cast. I wanted and wished for more with this one.

A story of a group of women working in the dress department of an Australian department store. They are on the brink of changes as they are figuring out their dreams and their lives.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Women in Black is being released to an American audience after being originally published in 1993 and after a few pages I realized I had read this about 12 years ago. I loved it then and I still loved re-reading it.

Set in 1950s Australia, the book is centered around 5 women who work in a department store together and how sometimes how people are at work, doesn't always show everything happening to them. A great book about women, friendship and life.

This wasn't a normal read but still enjoyable. This takes place at a department store in Sydney during the 1950s. The book follows three workers and a temp who work in the ladies department of the store. There are some twists with what happens in their lives.

This book is very minimally written. For instance, there is a party that is only portrayed by the dialogue from immigrant Magda. Characters are seen through slits of their life. Sometimes, characters make decisions that I don't understand. Which given how other worldly this book is, didn't annoy me.

However, I could see someone picking this up and just not enjoying it. So, your millage may vary.

I liked the synopsis and thought it would be something I would like to read. Two chapters In and the book had already lost my interest. I liked the 1950s settings, but I just couldn't engage with the story. The best thing about the book was the cover.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC. This book is about a group of women that work in a department story in Sydney. Everyone has their life in the store and outside the store and all support each other. This book was short and cute. I enjoyed how she wrote.

The writing in this book feels Very dated (but not quite in a good way) and slow to start, I ultimately bailed on this novel.

The Women in Black by Australian author Madeleine St. John was originally published in 1993, but is receiving an American release in 2020 with an updated cover and a recommendation of appealing to fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Short and spiffy, The Women in Black, about the female retail workers in an upscale department store in Sydney, will appeal to a specific kind of reader - one who enjoys novels of the past which have a distinctly dated tone to their writing style. The Women in Black is about the 1950s, and it is believable that it could have been written in the '50s. With a distanced feel, The Women in Black peeks into the lives of a dissatisfied wife who yearns for a child with her aloof husband, a young single woman with a checkered past, a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood, and a glamorous emigre from Slovenia. Together they work at Goodes Department Store, and are the subject of St. John's short novel. While this book isn't as engaging or head-turning as some modern novels, it still holds merit, detailing the plight of women in the constrictive 1950s, trying to make a living and find their own way and identity apart from the role of wife, mother, and daughter.

I have been trying so hard to find my groove with this book. Being a huge fan of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," I thought this book would appeal to me. However I find it difficult to bound around from one character to another and it is taken forever for those characters to develop. I've read about one-third of the book but am not captivated. As much as I don't want to, I have to give up.