4/5
This book??? Whispered its way into my bones and then refused to leave. I’m days out and still staring at walls trying to process what just happened.
Women, Seated drops us into the ruins of a powerful Beijing family, through the eyes of Yu Ling, a nanny who’s been invisible her whole life—until scandal hits and suddenly, everything collapses. She’s left with nothing... except one fragile kid and one completely feral goose.

Let’s talk about Kuan Kuan—this soft, loyal little soul who clings to Yu Ling with a trust that shattered me. He doesn’t care about politics or money. He just wants her. That kind of devotion?? Raw. Real. Destroyed me in the best way.
And their bond isn’t overdone. It’s quiet. Undeniable. Yu Ling comforts, protects, carries the emotional weight without breaking him. It’s motherhood in its most invisible, heartbreaking form.

AND THEN THERE’S THE GOOSE. Named Swan. I can’t. It hisses, bites, shows up in the most emotionally devastating moments like it owns the place—and somehow?? It works. It’s not just comic relief. It’s a symbol. Of chaos. Of collapse. Of rich people losing control of their homes and their animals.

Yu Ling’s journey wrecked me. She’s betrayed by people she trusted. She forms new friendships—not joyful ones, but survival bonds. Ones built in the rubble. Ones that matter more than anyone realizes. And through it all, she begins to reclaim herself. Not loudly. But fully.

And yeah… let’s talk about that ending.
I saw the callback. I connected the dots. But what does it mean?? It felt like a full stop, a question mark, and a gut punch all at once. No closure. Just haunting vibes. I’m still spiraling tbh.

🪿 Goose.
🧍‍♀️ Trauma.
📉 Emotional collapse in 3 acts.

Shoutout to Jeremy Tiang for the immaculate translation. For fans of Cocoon, The White Book, or books that feel like drowning in silence.
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loved everything about this book. it was short, intriguing, fast paced, satirical, sad, beautiful, and horrendous all at once. a total roller-coaster ride i might say. the ending felt a little flat maybe we got lost in translation or something idk...

full rtc

I love a family saga and this gave me all of the best parts of that genre. I loved reading and learning about Chinese culture and was totally wrapped up in the story of this family and all their drama.

Thanks to Netgalley and Riverhead for the ebook. A fascinating look at a privileged Chinese family as told by their nanny, Yu Ling. The grandfather of the boy she looks after is arrested and it ripples through the family as the boy’s father is also quickly arrested and the mother is trapped in Hong Kong, afraid what will happen to her if she comes back to the mainland. Yu Ling, who recently lost her life savings to her boyfriend, finds herself broke, the maid stole anything of worth in the house the second she heard of the arrests, and alone with a young boy that no one has given any thought to.

This story dragged for me a bit and I couldn't get fully into it like how I wanted to. The contents and the storyline were interesting. Viewing corruption and class dynamics from the eyes of the main character were the main reason I kept going with this book.

Women, Seated is a short novel about Yu Ling, a nanny for a wealthy, politically connected family in Beijing. Her charge, Kuan Kuan, is an inquisitive little boy who loves animals. When his father and grandfather are arrested, his mother goes on the run, and Yu Ling is left to care for Kuan Kuan alone. This was an easy, engaging read, but I had a little trouble keeping the characters straight.

This brief novel is about a nanny for a well-off Chinese family and the decisions she makes upon learning that the patriarch, a politician, is accused of corruption. We learn about her relationship to her charge, her bosses, the other help, and her family of origin. We also learn what makes her tick and what compels her. Though brief, the novel gives a good look into this woman's experience during an intense moment in time.

Wow, what a ride.

This is the story of a nanny who finds herself looking after her charge alone, and has to handle a variety of problems that crop up. I could say so much more, but I worry I would spoil one of the many twists and turns, so I will refrain.

This book made me feel angry, sad, and uneasy all in one, and I kinda loved it. I really enjoyed how it was told - how you find out bits and pieces as you go. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, the nanny revealed something we didn’t know yet, or discovered something that threw a little twist in there.

The ending was vague in a way that has me still thing about all the little bits of the book - and making me mad when I think about the main character's boyfriend.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Riverhead, NetGalley, and Zhang Yueran for this eARC!

A short story set in Beijing about a nanny who takes care of a wealthy family's son: the story begins with the father and grandfather being arrested, while the boy's mother is on the run. The dedicated nanny watches over him, taking care of him and his pet goose. An intriguing story that kept my interest until the end.

Women, Seated left me breathless in that quiet, aching way only a truly intimate novel can. Zhang Yueran has this incredible ability to distill entire lifetimes of longing, silence, and regret into a single glance, a paused conversation, a memory left unspoken. Reading this felt like eavesdropping on something sacred.

The women at the center of this book aren’t loud or flashy—they’re restrained, reflective, often burdened by history and expectation. But their emotional landscapes are vast. Every chapter feels like peeling back another layer of grief, inherited trauma, and the impossible task of being seen in a world that prefers you still and pleasing. The title is so fitting: these women may be seated, but their minds are sprinting.

There’s a stillness to the prose that’s deceptively powerful. The pacing is deliberate, and yet I found myself turning the pages faster and faster, desperate to get closer to these lives, to understand what wasn’t being said. And in those gaps—in the silences, the held breaths—there’s so much truth.

This isn’t a book that screams for your attention; it quietly demands your full presence. And if you give it that, it will stay with you long after you’ve closed the final page. It certainly stayed with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the advanced copy! All thoughts are my own:

A very well-paced book with pretty good twists. A book about the compromises women make to get by, even in a life they didn’t necessarily create for themselves

Brief but impactful, this novel balances tenderness and brutality. The found family element was heartfelt, the characters memorable, and the setting offered a look into contemporary China.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing special. Wasn't outstanding, but not bad, either. A few word translations were a bit odd but not super distracting. Trigger warning for animal cruelty/death.

fun and well-done literary novel full of taut tension and thrilling writing. 4 stars. tysm for the arc, would recommend.

This was such an interesting and easy read. I found the power dynamics really interesting, and the plot was quite compelling, but the ending was kind of a letdown. It felt extremely unfinished to end it right when things were escalating, which made me wonder if this would have been better suited as a short story rather than a small book.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

I thought this sounded really interesting and while the writing was certainly beautiful, I had a really hard time following and this prevented me from getting deeply invested. I feel like I'm probably in the minority and I hope most people love this book! just wasn't for me I reckon.

thanks for the arc! <3

In present day Beijing, Yu Ling is nanny to the son of a wealthy, politically connected family. When the father and grandfather are arrested for unspecified crimes, the mother is on a trip and the rest of the help scatters, looting the house as they go. Yu Ling, whose own path has really limited her options, eventually decides to stay in the empty house with Kuan Kuan and wait out the situation. Things end up happening, of course, but the plot mainly serves to show how different women become kind of locked into a life they haven't necessarily created for themselves, and how even when those lives are very different, their choices for starting over are really limited.
I liked this a lot! It's brief character study, and while I can't compare to the original, I thought the translation was great. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

A quiet novel that echoes loud beneath the surface. Women, Seated is a haunting meditation on memory, gender, silence, and inheritance. Zhang Yueran’s prose is deliberate and each sentence feels as if it’s been placed with the care of an artist.

Told through the voices of three generations of women—grandmother, mother, and daughter—the novel explores how pain, loss, and love ripple down. It’s not so much about what happens as it is about what lingers: the questions unasked, the histories unspoken, the deep solitude of being a woman in this world.

Yueran's storytelling is focuses more on implication than exposure. The book is deeply Chinese in setting and cultural but its themes—familial duty, emotional estrangement, female endurance—can be universal.

This is not a novel that hurries. It asks you to sit with it, to listen. And if you do, it will leave you changed.
#womenseated #zhangyueran #penguin #riverheadbooks

"Women, Seated" by Zhang Yueran is a beautifully layered novel that unravels power, privilege, and sacrifice within an elite Chinese family. Through the perspective of Yu Ling, a longtime nanny who has witnessed it all, the story reveals buried secrets and shifting loyalties with quiet intensity. Yueran’s evocative prose and keen insight make this a deeply absorbing exploration of class, ambition, and resilience.

I found the book really well written. The descriptions and perspectives of each character were nuanced and well portrayed. The women, were indeed well seated in this one. 4.5/5 stars

The story is rich with tension, peeling back layers of loyalty, ambition, and survival in a way that leaves you breathless. It’s sharp, intense, and brimming with unspoken emotion, a must-read for anyone who loves stories that explore the gray areas of morality and the resilience of the human spirit.