Review of 'A Woman's Work' by Victoria Purman
Release date: April 5th, 2023
Publisher: Harlequin Australia, HQ
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REVIEW
This is a powerful story told from the perspectives of two women living in the same community in 1956 Australia. Each are trying to manage their struggles with family, marriage and work. On top of this, they are dealing with society’s view of women. Women were expected to behave in a certain compliant way and perform flawless domestic duties.
War widow Ivy Quinn has a twelve year son who has never known his father but Ivy goes to great lengths to protect, provide and nurture her child in the best way she knows how. She is independent and works at the local Medical Practice. Her own past traumas make her sensitive to other’s needs and particularly compassionate to the women who walk through the practice’s doors. She is very efficient and organised in her job. The two doctors, one older and one younger, are most appreciative of her professional skills. The senior Doctor and his wife have been longstanding friends with Ivy and even have become substitute grandparents for her son. As secure and accomplished as Ivy’s life is, she carries a secret that could bring her son’s world down. She has to decide at one point who to share this burden with as it may mean helping another avoid serious consequences.
The second woman Kathleen O’Grady is married to a mechanic. They have five children. She is still a young woman but the grind of an everyday homemaker’s life with a large family to care for, has aged and worn her. She has no time for pampering herself for she is always caring for her husband’s and children’s needs. Although she clearly loves each member of her family, she is exhausted and reaching her limits of patience and strength. Her mother sees her pain and sympathises and brings something to her attention that could restore her joy and recharge her exhausted batteries (so to speak). A cooking competition from The Women’s Weekly offers an amazing amount of money that could supply her with some financial independence or at least bonus money for indulgences.
I was filled with so many emotions and thoughts as I read this novel. My heart ached at the internal pain these women endured and the silence they had to maintain to protect their positions. It was very much a man’s world that dictated a harsh reality of what women were supposed to be and what was required of them. There was no freedom or personal space. And although the story is set before my time (1956), it made me conscious of the issues my own mother would have faced. I know from history (and my mother’s comments) this novel is an astonishing and accurate portrayal of women's lives at that time and of the limitations put on them. The burdens and work load they carried proved overwhelming. Especially for those with large families, low incomes and lack of modern conveniences such as washing machines, dishwashers, disposal nappies, etc. The mundane drone of repetitive tasks, day in and day out, wore many women down. In some cases, especially for those confined in the home, there was very little mental stimulation or few adult conversations to promote development. Child care was a twenty-four hour demand with little help from spouse or others.
It is such a perfect novel in its depiction of women in the latter 1950's Australia. We see and feel their trials, limitations and frustrations. Their dark days and restless nights. And although there is plenty of despair, a light trickles through with the Australian Women's Weekly cooking contest and turns things around for these two women by offering them a chance for self-fulfilment. It gives them a goal and a means to achieve personal success. So, although I saw internal anguish visible on these pages, friendship, kindness and hope are very much a part of this story's fabric, too; especially when these two women’s paths cross. They are given a new freedom and strength.
I loved A Woman’s Work. I could not put it down, even to eat as I was so engrossed in these two women's lives. I highly recommend it and happily give it a full 5 Stars. A Woman's Work is deserving of such a mark and more.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Harlequin Australia, HQ and Netgalley for a review copy.
