"Progress, but women of their choosing, to use as they wish."
I was very, very excited to read this book. Anything that deals with women's issues is a win in my book, especially if done well. Alas, this was a brilliant idea, executed quite poorly. The main premise is that nameless women are put in different situations, and usually those are certain metaphors and expressions taken literally (eg. walk a mile in someone's shoes).
These are 30 stories of different women. What rubbed me the wrong way was that all protagonists are nameless. And while the purpose might have been to make the stories relatable and universal, it too often felt as if lack of identity stripped these women of their humanity as well. The effect was somewhat worsened for me as the stories felt too similar at times, blending with each other. It was easy to read, though, and a lot of scenarios made me ruminate on things, which is always a good thing. Still, since a lot of the stories feel repetitive and blur together, reading in installments is advisable.
The memorable stories, the ones that left a profound effect on me are those of a woman with wings (deals with immigration, prejudice and a mother's protectiveness) or the story of a government (women of the country feel dissatisfied because the government is comprised exclusively of men). There is a woman who unraveled (her arms and legs began unraveling like balls of yarn because of stress) and a woman who slowly disappeared (as she got older she got noticed less and less, until she eventually stated melting into the background). Another woman was kept on a shelf, separated from everyone while left went on without her (literally a trophy wife), another one still found bite marks on her skin (the guilt of being a mother with a career literally ate at her). Wanting to relive happy memories, a woman ate photographs; due to always being called by a title or nickname (being everything to everyone) one woman forgot her name. In a dystopian gender divided world, a woman wore pink and had to let the men be honorable by helping her or opening her doors (if the societal gender norms were made into laws). In a twist, a woman guarded gonads and made a man's life more difficult because every sperm is a potential for life (reproductive rights gender swapped).
Some of the women in the stories baffle me, though - what's the deal with the strong suit (a woman with a Ph.D doesn't know what the expressions means and goes on a shopping spree, looking for a suit that makes her look strong), why did that one take her husband back after she returned him (she felt her husband was holding her back, she was fed up with his ticks and oddities so she returned him to the store - a bit dystopian - but then she ran after him because of course what will she do without him now?). The story of meeting other women underground (wishing the ground would swallow you in an embarrassing situation) was odd as well, the social anxiety is gender neutral, having a lisp is as well. I found the story of a literal ticking clock bad because it plays on the stereotype that all women want to be mothers.
I do believe there is something in here for everyone - the collection does boast that there is a story for every woman. I found bits and pieces of myself in several of them. Overall, it's a nice collection of everyday struggles for women (both big and small), but it could have been trimmed and polished up some more and it would have been heaps better.
