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Women! In! Peril!
In this brash and unputdownable collection, award-winning playwright Jessie Ren Marshall invites us into the lives of twelve women who push against social norms and family expectations to reclaim their power, understand their mistakes, and find a better future. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and defiantly optimistic, the stories in Women! In! Peril! balance wry humor and gravitas to explore the complexities of queerness, toxic relationships, parenting and divorce, Asian and Asian American identity, and more.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2024
60 people are currently reading
12716 people want to read
About the author
Jessie Ren Marshall
1 book56 followersJessie Ren Marshall’s debut story collection, WOMEN! IN! PERIL!, is published by Bloomsbury (2024).
Her writing has appeared in places like New England Review, Electric Lit, ZYZZYVA, Joyland, TriQuarterly, Gulf Coast, and the New York Times.
She has an MFA from New York University and her work has been supported by the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Millay Colony, the KHN Center for the Arts, and the Community of Writers.
She lives off-grid with her dogs on Hawai‘i Island. Find her at jessierenmarshall.com.
Her writing has appeared in places like New England Review, Electric Lit, ZYZZYVA, Joyland, TriQuarterly, Gulf Coast, and the New York Times.
She has an MFA from New York University and her work has been supported by the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Millay Colony, the KHN Center for the Arts, and the Community of Writers.
She lives off-grid with her dogs on Hawai‘i Island. Find her at jessierenmarshall.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
February 6, 2024
I was admittedly drawn to this short story collection in part due to its title but also the cover, and I ended up with more than I bargained for — in a good way.
This short story collection will make you laugh but also make you feel something — I love the blend of humour and social commentary, touching on subjects related to women, our experiences, the way we're perceived by others and ultimately treated by male counterparts.
One of the things I liked most about this collection of stories is how different they were both in writing style and in subject matter while staying on the theme of girlhood.
The last story was probably my favourite. I think what impressed me the most about the collection overall was so much character depth in a short story collection.
Thank you Bloomsbury for the eARC!
This short story collection will make you laugh but also make you feel something — I love the blend of humour and social commentary, touching on subjects related to women, our experiences, the way we're perceived by others and ultimately treated by male counterparts.
One of the things I liked most about this collection of stories is how different they were both in writing style and in subject matter while staying on the theme of girlhood.
The last story was probably my favourite. I think what impressed me the most about the collection overall was so much character depth in a short story collection.
Thank you Bloomsbury for the eARC!
April 30, 2024
Great cover, great title, and stories so centered on the female experience that no matter what crazy premise they covered, I still saw myself between the letters. As with any story collection, I resonated more with some than others (our country daughter!), but the overall tone is entertaining in a matter of fact way. Thoroughly enjoyed:)
March 18, 2024
I really loved this short story collection. The stories were quirky, funny, and poignant. Jessie Ren Marshall is a wonderful writer and storyteller. She has such a great sense of humor, and she's not afraid to write about disturbing topics. The only story I didn't care for was "Sister Fat". I think my favorites were "Annie", "Our Country Daughter", "Late Girl", "Dogs" and "My Immaculate Girlfriend". There's a little bit of everything from sex bots, to space travel, to pregnant lesbians. I will definitely read more from this author in the future. This book was delightfully weird. So much zany fun!
Thank you, Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the digital ARC.
Thank you, Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the digital ARC.
June 21, 2024
this was really good! the stories were so creative and interesting and emotional
i really liked her style of writing and honestly i really liked all of the women in these stories.
good book! looking forward to reading more of this author’s stuff
i really liked her style of writing and honestly i really liked all of the women in these stories.
good book! looking forward to reading more of this author’s stuff
June 19, 2024
In theory I should have really liked this collection. Out of the box short stories about womanhood are my bread and butter. So, when I came across this collection with such a striking title and cover, I was certain I was going to love it. However, I just was not as blown away by it as I have been with other similar collections.
There’s nothing horribly wrong with the stories. The variety of subject matters, characters, and settings are extremely impressive. One moment we are up in space, the next we are on the interstate. One story may be rooted firmly in today’s reality while the next in complete science fiction. The amount of range Marshall has provided is stunning and exciting.
The issues the female characters face are also strikingly varied. We have the sexualization of female bodies, complex romantic relationships, negative body images, loss of memory, girlhood and independence, grief, and motherhood. These women are in all different kinds of peril and each are valid.
However, no amount of variety can make up for the way that these stories are missing a statement. To me, it felt like the stories had promising concepts, but lacked anything to say about them. We’re told a story but left with little to chew on, which I think is really a missed opportunity. Some stories were better than others, with small revelations and slivers of hope, but sometimes those felt a little stiff.
Other critiques, there were a few logistic errors in the earlier stories that really took me out of them. Additionally, some of the takes also felt a little performative. I don’t know how to explain this but it felt like the author was trying to prove her identity through some of the stories and it just rubbed me weird. Also, for all its variety in content, the collection really could have used a variety of pov, as they were all in first person.
That said, I throughly enjoyed “Annie 2” for its sex robot’s pov that emphasized how women can do everything right and still not be enough. I also liked “Women! In! Peril!” for its unique narrative form and voice, and for emphasizing the power women have over the continuation of the human race.
All in all, I think Women! In! Peril! had the potential to be more, but just missed the mark a little. I’m not that disappointed though, they were fun concepts.
There’s nothing horribly wrong with the stories. The variety of subject matters, characters, and settings are extremely impressive. One moment we are up in space, the next we are on the interstate. One story may be rooted firmly in today’s reality while the next in complete science fiction. The amount of range Marshall has provided is stunning and exciting.
The issues the female characters face are also strikingly varied. We have the sexualization of female bodies, complex romantic relationships, negative body images, loss of memory, girlhood and independence, grief, and motherhood. These women are in all different kinds of peril and each are valid.
However, no amount of variety can make up for the way that these stories are missing a statement. To me, it felt like the stories had promising concepts, but lacked anything to say about them. We’re told a story but left with little to chew on, which I think is really a missed opportunity. Some stories were better than others, with small revelations and slivers of hope, but sometimes those felt a little stiff.
Other critiques, there were a few logistic errors in the earlier stories that really took me out of them. Additionally, some of the takes also felt a little performative. I don’t know how to explain this but it felt like the author was trying to prove her identity through some of the stories and it just rubbed me weird. Also, for all its variety in content, the collection really could have used a variety of pov, as they were all in first person.
That said, I throughly enjoyed “Annie 2” for its sex robot’s pov that emphasized how women can do everything right and still not be enough. I also liked “Women! In! Peril!” for its unique narrative form and voice, and for emphasizing the power women have over the continuation of the human race.
All in all, I think Women! In! Peril! had the potential to be more, but just missed the mark a little. I’m not that disappointed though, they were fun concepts.
September 3, 2024
A short stories collection I actually (mostly) enjoyed? It's a miracle.
Jessie Ren Marshall has a cluster of speculative fiction stories peppered with stories about women, motherhood, and a girl's coming-of-age. Some of my favorite stories include "My Immaculate Girlfriend," about a woman whose partner spontaneously becomes pregnant, "Late Girl," about a failed ballerina navigating college with short term memory loss after an accident, and "The Birds of Trafalgar Square," of a woman using inheritance money from her late mother to do something new.
Jessie Ren Marshall has a cluster of speculative fiction stories peppered with stories about women, motherhood, and a girl's coming-of-age. Some of my favorite stories include "My Immaculate Girlfriend," about a woman whose partner spontaneously becomes pregnant, "Late Girl," about a failed ballerina navigating college with short term memory loss after an accident, and "The Birds of Trafalgar Square," of a woman using inheritance money from her late mother to do something new.
December 6, 2023
disclaimer: i worked on this book
April 9, 2024
uuuuugh first two were fine but lost interest and got tired of the humor/tone and ended up skimming
Read
August 8, 2024This collection felt like a mixed bag to me. I really liked a couple of stories, really disliked a couple of them, and felt very middling about most. Great title and cover though
March 31, 2024
I SCREAMED WHEN THIS ONE SHOWED UP ON MY FRONT PORCH!!!
I am so thankful to Bloomsbury Books, Jessie Ren Marshall, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this beauty before it hits shelves on April 2, 2024.
Women! In! Peril! is a beautifully produced collection of feminist narratives that are both relatable, heartbreaking, and empowering. We've got tales of sex robots who want to be loved and cared for in their host home. There's a tale about the Immaculate Lesbian "Mary," who is about to bring a miracle into this world and gains the acceptance of a local church looking to patronize her. There's a tale about the last woman on Earth, now in space, looking to survive this world and cohabitate on a new planet. There are breakup stories and coming-of-age narratives that are sure to shed a tear and leave you wanting to give all the hugs in the world to these unfortunate women, for they are in peril in every situation, and it's real.
This was so well done and I look forward to more of our author's work to come.
I am so thankful to Bloomsbury Books, Jessie Ren Marshall, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this beauty before it hits shelves on April 2, 2024.
Women! In! Peril! is a beautifully produced collection of feminist narratives that are both relatable, heartbreaking, and empowering. We've got tales of sex robots who want to be loved and cared for in their host home. There's a tale about the Immaculate Lesbian "Mary," who is about to bring a miracle into this world and gains the acceptance of a local church looking to patronize her. There's a tale about the last woman on Earth, now in space, looking to survive this world and cohabitate on a new planet. There are breakup stories and coming-of-age narratives that are sure to shed a tear and leave you wanting to give all the hugs in the world to these unfortunate women, for they are in peril in every situation, and it's real.
This was so well done and I look forward to more of our author's work to come.
January 19, 2025
Fantastic! Nearly every story was a banger for me - especially in the first 200pp. Highly recommend, especially if you enjoyed Nada Alic’s collection Bad Thoughts.
April 27, 2024
3.5 - Really enjoyed this short story collection. I appreciated the topics of womanhood, presented in a variety of ways. I also really enjoyed the depth of the stories while also remaining easily digestible.
July 29, 2024
I loved this series of short stories about what it means to be a woman and the complexities that come with it.
March 7, 2024
thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the advanced ebook copy of Women! In! Peril!
this fun little short story collection will be released April 2, 2024.
--
in the way of most short story collections, this one had its hits and misses, though those misses for me had less to do with quality of writing and more to do with personal preference. i found the comprehensive collection overall to be excellent, with themes of womanhood, maternity, grief, yearning, and identity explored.
i am still thinking about some of the sci-fi stories that were in this collection - a genre that the author REALLY excelled. the first story called annie 2 absolutely is the knockout star of the whole thing and i haven't stopped thinking about it since - a mom buys a robot for her son, grieving the end of a relationship, with the idea that the robot can, uh, service him. here, we explore the "rules" of the robot (if she is penetrated, then she can't be refunded), the expectation that if she's not being used for pleasure then she's used for housework, a scratch on her skin being considered her fatal "flaw", how she walks off a cliff at the end at the direction of her owner because she's been sucked of all her use. wow. wow wow wow wow wow.
there was another sci-fi gem here - women! in! peril! - taking place on a spaceship where groups of women able to get pregnant are being transported in cryogenic sleep states to a planet populated with virile men in order to preserve the human race. this story is cleverly told in "blurts" aka short snippets of dialogue from a character that's been woken up from her sleep state to get her scheduled exercise and goes through what happens when she realizes the ship has gotten off course and is headed for catastrophe. loved, loved, loved.
there was also a gorgeous sapphic treat in late girl, a story about a dancer who has been in an accident and lost her memory, about the memory in her body for her dancing and a love that she may have forgotten. i could have read about a million extra words on this story and loved it.
other stories - those culminating in the end of marriages to cheating husbands and motherhood (i am sorry, child-free lesbian here) - were still very good, but not things that meant as much to me out of preference, though i do think that people other than me will get a lot out of them.
jessie ren marshall is a highly cinematic, visual writer. i felt drawn-in and engaged in every sentence and i was impressed with the way her tone oscillated to suit each story and character. i would reaaaaaaally love a full-length novel from this writer and judging from the variety of stories that we're treated to in this collection, i think anything she writes in whatever genre she chooses will, in fact, be an absolute banger.
this fun little short story collection will be released April 2, 2024.
--
in the way of most short story collections, this one had its hits and misses, though those misses for me had less to do with quality of writing and more to do with personal preference. i found the comprehensive collection overall to be excellent, with themes of womanhood, maternity, grief, yearning, and identity explored.
i am still thinking about some of the sci-fi stories that were in this collection - a genre that the author REALLY excelled. the first story called annie 2 absolutely is the knockout star of the whole thing and i haven't stopped thinking about it since - a mom buys a robot for her son, grieving the end of a relationship, with the idea that the robot can, uh, service him. here, we explore the "rules" of the robot (if she is penetrated, then she can't be refunded), the expectation that if she's not being used for pleasure then she's used for housework, a scratch on her skin being considered her fatal "flaw", how she walks off a cliff at the end at the direction of her owner because she's been sucked of all her use. wow. wow wow wow wow wow.
there was another sci-fi gem here - women! in! peril! - taking place on a spaceship where groups of women able to get pregnant are being transported in cryogenic sleep states to a planet populated with virile men in order to preserve the human race. this story is cleverly told in "blurts" aka short snippets of dialogue from a character that's been woken up from her sleep state to get her scheduled exercise and goes through what happens when she realizes the ship has gotten off course and is headed for catastrophe. loved, loved, loved.
there was also a gorgeous sapphic treat in late girl, a story about a dancer who has been in an accident and lost her memory, about the memory in her body for her dancing and a love that she may have forgotten. i could have read about a million extra words on this story and loved it.
other stories - those culminating in the end of marriages to cheating husbands and motherhood (i am sorry, child-free lesbian here) - were still very good, but not things that meant as much to me out of preference, though i do think that people other than me will get a lot out of them.
jessie ren marshall is a highly cinematic, visual writer. i felt drawn-in and engaged in every sentence and i was impressed with the way her tone oscillated to suit each story and character. i would reaaaaaaally love a full-length novel from this writer and judging from the variety of stories that we're treated to in this collection, i think anything she writes in whatever genre she chooses will, in fact, be an absolute banger.
May 26, 2025
Quick Review: 3/5
Pros:
- Well-written. Marshall is an extremely talented writer that was able to create 12 vivid worlds full of fascinating characters that all feel distinct from one another within only a few pages each. Each story was crafted and cultivated with expert skill.
- Enthralling. Each story - even the ones I personally disliked - gripped me from the very beginning and I felt compelled to see them through once I'd started. Each work is extremely engaging in different ways: throughout the book, I laughed out loud, I felt disgusted, I was horrified, and I wanted more. "Annie 2," "Mrs. Fisher," "Late Girl," "Billy M," and "Our Country Daughter" in particular are highlights for me.
Cons:
- Somewhat unsatisfying. This could 100% be a me problem, but some stories left me feeling unfulfilled at best and confused at worst. "My Immaculate Girlfriend," "Women! In! Peril!," "Great Romantics," and "Sister Fat" each left me with more questions than answers, but not in a thought-provoking or evocative way. I was unsure of the point some of these stories were trying to make and even after reading interviews or commentary about them, I'm still at a loss.
- Not as advertised. The professional reviews I've read about this book (as well as the back cover itself) highlight the humor and hopeful tone of the stories and I sincerely disagree. Many of these stories are extremely bleak. While some stories, like "Our Country Daughter," are full of smiles and end in an uplifting way, others like "Women! In! Peril!" and "Annie 2" do the exact opposite. That's not to say that tragedy and bleakness can't make for good reading - I just wish that I had different expectations before digging into tales like "Sister Fat."
Favorite Part: "Late Girl" was my favorite story in the collection and I would love to read a full-length novel with the same premise and expert execution. Chelsea and Amy have a intriguing and wonderful dynamic that I couldn't get enough of.
Recommend to Others?: I think so. I would definitely recommend specific stories. However, I would preface any recommendation for the full book with a clear expectation of its contents rather than the misleading information on the cover.
Pros:
- Well-written. Marshall is an extremely talented writer that was able to create 12 vivid worlds full of fascinating characters that all feel distinct from one another within only a few pages each. Each story was crafted and cultivated with expert skill.
- Enthralling. Each story - even the ones I personally disliked - gripped me from the very beginning and I felt compelled to see them through once I'd started. Each work is extremely engaging in different ways: throughout the book, I laughed out loud, I felt disgusted, I was horrified, and I wanted more. "Annie 2," "Mrs. Fisher," "Late Girl," "Billy M," and "Our Country Daughter" in particular are highlights for me.
Cons:
- Somewhat unsatisfying. This could 100% be a me problem, but some stories left me feeling unfulfilled at best and confused at worst. "My Immaculate Girlfriend," "Women! In! Peril!," "Great Romantics," and "Sister Fat" each left me with more questions than answers, but not in a thought-provoking or evocative way. I was unsure of the point some of these stories were trying to make and even after reading interviews or commentary about them, I'm still at a loss.
- Not as advertised. The professional reviews I've read about this book (as well as the back cover itself) highlight the humor and hopeful tone of the stories and I sincerely disagree. Many of these stories are extremely bleak. While some stories, like "Our Country Daughter," are full of smiles and end in an uplifting way, others like "Women! In! Peril!" and "Annie 2" do the exact opposite. That's not to say that tragedy and bleakness can't make for good reading - I just wish that I had different expectations before digging into tales like "Sister Fat."
Favorite Part: "Late Girl" was my favorite story in the collection and I would love to read a full-length novel with the same premise and expert execution. Chelsea and Amy have a intriguing and wonderful dynamic that I couldn't get enough of.
Recommend to Others?: I think so. I would definitely recommend specific stories. However, I would preface any recommendation for the full book with a clear expectation of its contents rather than the misleading information on the cover.
December 2, 2025
Who is this book for? What a performance of caring about women without actually respecting them.
What am I supposed to do with these stories? There’s nothing to hold, nothing to wrestle with, and nothing transformed. The stories end in the middle.
Funny, witty? Where?
Can women be more than wombs, and boobs, and ex-wives, and holes? Can women exist beyond what they are to men?!
Don’t read this book.
What am I supposed to do with these stories? There’s nothing to hold, nothing to wrestle with, and nothing transformed. The stories end in the middle.
Funny, witty? Where?
Can women be more than wombs, and boobs, and ex-wives, and holes? Can women exist beyond what they are to men?!
Don’t read this book.
February 8, 2024
My favorite thing to read is something that I haven't read before--not just the specific configuration of words, but the structure/plot/approach/theme/etc., and this book is the most brilliantly novel thing I've read in recent memory. The stories in this collection were all so distinctive and yet also shared the same kind of haunting heartbreak surrounding being a woman in the 21st century. I love how identity figured into some stories more explicitly than others, but each time it was explored in a fresh new way. For so many of these, I wished I could read the novel version of these stories because I was so sad when they ended and wanted them to go on.
Needless to say, I adore this book and wish there were more books like it.
Needless to say, I adore this book and wish there were more books like it.
March 19, 2024
this book was … fine! it’s definitely a “weird book for weird girl” type of book. the variety of short stories was nice to read, and I thought each short story was full-fledged. each story was confusing as you were reading it, but by the end of the selection, everything made sense, like for every single short.
please check TWs for this book!
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
please check TWs for this book!
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
May 1, 2024
1.5 ⭐️s? There was something in this book that made me want to keep reading so I did finish it. Even though I'm an avid reader with multiple bachelors degrees, I didn't understand a lot of it or was left with many questions. Hm.
August 24, 2024
a fascinatingly eclectic collection of short stories that despite their differences, all revolve around the complexities and nuances of womanhood. some truly memorable lines that really hit home!
June 11, 2024
Great collection, great variety, great length.
November 18, 2024
We tend to think of a plan B as a fallback option in case our plan A doesn’t materialize, but as Jessie Ren Marshall demonstrates in her powerful debut, Women! In! Peril!, a collection of twelve memorable, distinctly-flavored short stories, that conception is too limited. A plan B–or, as in the titular story, “Women! In! Peril!”, about a woman who wakes up from cryo-sleep en route to a world intended to assure humanity’s survival, a plan(et) B–represents an opportunity to rethink our values and desires. What if the thing we thought we wanted isn’t worth wanting?
I want to start by praising Ren Marshall’s command of voice; it’s truly impressive. Many of these stories are told in the first person, and time and again Ren Marshall shifts cadences, speech patterns, vocabulary choices, and the grammar used to connect thoughts, to tell us as much about the narrators and their plights as what is literally being conveyed through the meanings of their words. Here, for instance, is the opening of the aforementioned “Women! In! Peril!”:
“Blurt #1—Awake Session 1. What is it like to wake up in deep space? Eh. Not glamorous. After 4 mos in Sleep State I crawled out bent w/crusty eyes & flat hair. Good thing there are zero mirrors Onship. Fun fact: 90% of us signed a petition to demand mirrors but the scientists knew the journey would ruin our bodies & said no mirrors you’ll be too ugly sorry.”
Now compare this with the opening of “Dogs”:
“Robert opens a bottle of Riesling, sits next to me on the sofa, and says that he is leaving.”
Or the first paragraph of “Billy M”:
“Not that I wanted to think about Billy M, but in Knoxville I stopped for gas and saw his name on the cover of the S_____ Review. I threw the magazine on the passenger seat and drove until a crawl of traffic on I-81 gave me time to read the poems. None were about me.”
From these invitations we can already begin to surmise something about different states of mind and ways of perceiving the world. This application of craft makes each story feel thoughtfully considered and fully conceived. Even when the point of view is third person, as in “Uli,” about a fifteen year old girl who has long practiced the classical piano and now finds herself at a complex crossroads in life, experiences are poetically filtered through identity. After her friend Josh is impressed to learn that Uli’s mom lives in Hawai‘i, we learn that “she wanted him to kiss her then. The chance of it rose and fell like an arpeggio under her fingers.” That last sentence elegantly advances our understanding of Uli on multiple levels. Style, overall, is fluid throughout the collection, perfectly customized to the needs of each tale. This makes the book a joy to read straight through from cover to cover.
That’s not to say that each outing is entirely disparate or untethered from the rest. Girlhood, womanhood, community, and a longing for connection, whether in close romantic relationships or other dynamics, recur throughout. There are more specific patterns at work too, like the figure of a demanding teacher or pushy instructor, for example, as with Jason in “March 6, 2009,” who insists that the narrator confront personal trauma and share it with him by a specific date, or the character of Roman, the ballet instructor in “Late Girl,” whose aphoristic wisdom–“the body never lies”–is radiantly unraveled by unfolding events, or the female piano teacher in “Great Romantics,” who causes Uli to freeze when she tells her, “Forget what you practiced. Just play something true.” Mrs. Fisher, the protagonist of the same-titled story, whose quirky penchant for numerological coincidences belies much heftier life changes, sees love as a “temporary crucible. It came. It tested you. It left.” But even when worldviews such as hers are confirmed, or things go according to plan, haunting questions remain.
Most of these stories would be considered mainstream literary fiction, but Ren Marshall plays with genre materials on occasion, as in the eponymous piece, or in the quietly subversive and beautifully observed, Black Mirror-esque “Annie 2,” relayed from the perspective of the Asian sexbot “Jill of All.” The question of divine origin is taken up, with a healthy dose of humor, in the witty “My Immaculate Girlfriend,” while “Billy M.” traffics in the possibilities of discarnate existence, or at least psychological conjuration.
In these fictions, the past is not only often a foreign country, but one whose putative conquest is of questionable value. Ren Marshall integrates flashbacks seamlessly in her narratives, an especially neat trick to pull off in short stories, but memories provide as much insight as they do the risk of entrapment. Consider, for example, this observation from “March 6, 2009”: “For him, the past is contained. It is a lake he can row out on without getting lost. Mine is an ocean that breaks at the continents of family and home, eroding the shore.”
Much has been written in recent times about systemic privilege and its hidden assumptions: in an organic way, Ren Marshall’s fiction explores how such variances may lead to privileged vantage points in the very causeways of our consciousness. This doesn’t always split along gender lines–though it does at times, like in the brusquely ended relationship of “Dogs”–or even apply to same-aged individuals. Daughters, for instance, are often at odds with their mothers. Mrs. Fisher hates her sister Dolly, as well as her “Ma.” In the highly immersive and colorful “Sister Fat,” the lead muses, “Murder would not be impossible. In my imagination, I had performed the act on Mother many times.” The narrator of “The Birds in Trafalgar Square” uses her mother’s munificent inheritance to pursue the things her mom “would have loved,” but shortly thereafter begins stripping at a London club because it’s something she imagines her mom “would have hated.” This situation leads to one of a number of quietly devastating observations about the treatment of women in society: “Stripping was clear and impartial. It told me how much I was worth, and I know she [her mother] wondered about this, too. Her own value was so hard to pin down.”
In the collection’s poignant closer, “Our Country Daughter,” Ellen understandably frets about the wellbeing of her daughter Maddy, who she gets from her ex-wife Alison every other weekend, when Maddy declares that she’s going to be a country singer. Ellen’s experience, sensitivity, and the depth of her love for Maddy, manage in the final beats to telescope out her awareness and transform the story’s underlying tristesse into a meditative and moving hopefulness, evocative of the film 20th Century Women (2016). When our designs fail, and their contingencies lose their luster, we might finally surrender to the true nature of things. Maybe that was the plan all along.
I want to start by praising Ren Marshall’s command of voice; it’s truly impressive. Many of these stories are told in the first person, and time and again Ren Marshall shifts cadences, speech patterns, vocabulary choices, and the grammar used to connect thoughts, to tell us as much about the narrators and their plights as what is literally being conveyed through the meanings of their words. Here, for instance, is the opening of the aforementioned “Women! In! Peril!”:
“Blurt #1—Awake Session 1. What is it like to wake up in deep space? Eh. Not glamorous. After 4 mos in Sleep State I crawled out bent w/crusty eyes & flat hair. Good thing there are zero mirrors Onship. Fun fact: 90% of us signed a petition to demand mirrors but the scientists knew the journey would ruin our bodies & said no mirrors you’ll be too ugly sorry.”
Now compare this with the opening of “Dogs”:
“Robert opens a bottle of Riesling, sits next to me on the sofa, and says that he is leaving.”
Or the first paragraph of “Billy M”:
“Not that I wanted to think about Billy M, but in Knoxville I stopped for gas and saw his name on the cover of the S_____ Review. I threw the magazine on the passenger seat and drove until a crawl of traffic on I-81 gave me time to read the poems. None were about me.”
From these invitations we can already begin to surmise something about different states of mind and ways of perceiving the world. This application of craft makes each story feel thoughtfully considered and fully conceived. Even when the point of view is third person, as in “Uli,” about a fifteen year old girl who has long practiced the classical piano and now finds herself at a complex crossroads in life, experiences are poetically filtered through identity. After her friend Josh is impressed to learn that Uli’s mom lives in Hawai‘i, we learn that “she wanted him to kiss her then. The chance of it rose and fell like an arpeggio under her fingers.” That last sentence elegantly advances our understanding of Uli on multiple levels. Style, overall, is fluid throughout the collection, perfectly customized to the needs of each tale. This makes the book a joy to read straight through from cover to cover.
That’s not to say that each outing is entirely disparate or untethered from the rest. Girlhood, womanhood, community, and a longing for connection, whether in close romantic relationships or other dynamics, recur throughout. There are more specific patterns at work too, like the figure of a demanding teacher or pushy instructor, for example, as with Jason in “March 6, 2009,” who insists that the narrator confront personal trauma and share it with him by a specific date, or the character of Roman, the ballet instructor in “Late Girl,” whose aphoristic wisdom–“the body never lies”–is radiantly unraveled by unfolding events, or the female piano teacher in “Great Romantics,” who causes Uli to freeze when she tells her, “Forget what you practiced. Just play something true.” Mrs. Fisher, the protagonist of the same-titled story, whose quirky penchant for numerological coincidences belies much heftier life changes, sees love as a “temporary crucible. It came. It tested you. It left.” But even when worldviews such as hers are confirmed, or things go according to plan, haunting questions remain.
Most of these stories would be considered mainstream literary fiction, but Ren Marshall plays with genre materials on occasion, as in the eponymous piece, or in the quietly subversive and beautifully observed, Black Mirror-esque “Annie 2,” relayed from the perspective of the Asian sexbot “Jill of All.” The question of divine origin is taken up, with a healthy dose of humor, in the witty “My Immaculate Girlfriend,” while “Billy M.” traffics in the possibilities of discarnate existence, or at least psychological conjuration.
In these fictions, the past is not only often a foreign country, but one whose putative conquest is of questionable value. Ren Marshall integrates flashbacks seamlessly in her narratives, an especially neat trick to pull off in short stories, but memories provide as much insight as they do the risk of entrapment. Consider, for example, this observation from “March 6, 2009”: “For him, the past is contained. It is a lake he can row out on without getting lost. Mine is an ocean that breaks at the continents of family and home, eroding the shore.”
Much has been written in recent times about systemic privilege and its hidden assumptions: in an organic way, Ren Marshall’s fiction explores how such variances may lead to privileged vantage points in the very causeways of our consciousness. This doesn’t always split along gender lines–though it does at times, like in the brusquely ended relationship of “Dogs”–or even apply to same-aged individuals. Daughters, for instance, are often at odds with their mothers. Mrs. Fisher hates her sister Dolly, as well as her “Ma.” In the highly immersive and colorful “Sister Fat,” the lead muses, “Murder would not be impossible. In my imagination, I had performed the act on Mother many times.” The narrator of “The Birds in Trafalgar Square” uses her mother’s munificent inheritance to pursue the things her mom “would have loved,” but shortly thereafter begins stripping at a London club because it’s something she imagines her mom “would have hated.” This situation leads to one of a number of quietly devastating observations about the treatment of women in society: “Stripping was clear and impartial. It told me how much I was worth, and I know she [her mother] wondered about this, too. Her own value was so hard to pin down.”
In the collection’s poignant closer, “Our Country Daughter,” Ellen understandably frets about the wellbeing of her daughter Maddy, who she gets from her ex-wife Alison every other weekend, when Maddy declares that she’s going to be a country singer. Ellen’s experience, sensitivity, and the depth of her love for Maddy, manage in the final beats to telescope out her awareness and transform the story’s underlying tristesse into a meditative and moving hopefulness, evocative of the film 20th Century Women (2016). When our designs fail, and their contingencies lose their luster, we might finally surrender to the true nature of things. Maybe that was the plan all along.
February 13, 2024
Women! In! Peril! not only has an incredible title, but this collection of short stories is jam-packed with a variety of quirky, misunderstood, and strong female protagonists. Each story is its own little universe, and I was impressed how much character development and world building was contained in each one. From sex robots to a miraculous conception to a space journey to Planet B, this book covers a lot of ground and held my interest the entire time. Like any collection, I gravitated to some stories more than others, but I loved that the writer didn't hold back with big topics like queerness, Asian identity, complex romantic and familial relationships, and navigating the world as a woman in what is typically a male-dominated world. I look forward to future books!
June 6, 2024
Initially picked this one up when I noticed that it was short stories written by a playwright. So happy I did! Wickedly funny, sometimes heartbreaking and a dose of optimism thrown in. Jessie Ren Marshall crafted individual worlds in each of these short stories that I found myself invested in from the start. Huge bonus to see her shout out to Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts where she did her residency which means the beginnings of these stories were crafted or perfected right here in my home state of Nebraska. And kudos to Jessie for the Spotify Women! In! Peril! playlists !!!
May 17, 2025
a nice, even 4 stars me thinks.
immaculate writing! crazy stories! endless quotes from every chapter i'm going to keep with me for life! i wish i could write them all here, but im sleepy lol.
i feel like stories 1 and 3 could be novellas, i'd love to read more. the sci-fi/dystopian writing was v intriguing, but maybe that's just me and bc sci-fi is one of my favorite genres.
my only gripe is that i just wish that all of the stories weren't so male/romantic relationship centered. idk when i read the synopsis i didnt get the vibe that it would be like that.
i'm glad the last chapter was about a mother-daughter relationship,
immaculate writing! crazy stories! endless quotes from every chapter i'm going to keep with me for life! i wish i could write them all here, but im sleepy lol.
i feel like stories 1 and 3 could be novellas, i'd love to read more. the sci-fi/dystopian writing was v intriguing, but maybe that's just me and bc sci-fi is one of my favorite genres.
my only gripe is that i just wish that all of the stories weren't so male/romantic relationship centered. idk when i read the synopsis i didnt get the vibe that it would be like that.
i'm glad the last chapter was about a mother-daughter relationship,
June 4, 2025
Been chipping away at this in between studying for my MFA exam and it was delightful.
This is my favorite short story collection I’ve ever read. (To be fair I hate short story collections so…take that for what it’s worth).
I can see why tonally these may not be for everyone. No punches pulled. Wry dark humor. But this book had my lit crit brain ON baby. A few (maybe really only one?) duds to be sure but for the most part each story was wow. The first one “Annie 2” and the titular “Women! In! Peril!” were my favs.
This is my favorite short story collection I’ve ever read. (To be fair I hate short story collections so…take that for what it’s worth).
I can see why tonally these may not be for everyone. No punches pulled. Wry dark humor. But this book had my lit crit brain ON baby. A few (maybe really only one?) duds to be sure but for the most part each story was wow. The first one “Annie 2” and the titular “Women! In! Peril!” were my favs.
April 1, 2024
I read this as an ARC!
Women! In! Peril! is a collection of short stories that reminded me of East, West by Salman Rushdie, in the sense that this collection was experimental, creative, an insightful critique, and an overall enjoyable read that left me thinking. Marshall's stories invite the discomfort of the reader, which I thoroughly appreciated. I was disgusted yet enthralled at the lives of sentient sex dolls and voyagers in Deep Space. This is def one where I'll be looking for the physical copy to hold on to!
Women! In! Peril! is a collection of short stories that reminded me of East, West by Salman Rushdie, in the sense that this collection was experimental, creative, an insightful critique, and an overall enjoyable read that left me thinking. Marshall's stories invite the discomfort of the reader, which I thoroughly appreciated. I was disgusted yet enthralled at the lives of sentient sex dolls and voyagers in Deep Space. This is def one where I'll be looking for the physical copy to hold on to!
June 30, 2024
The title story was absolutely my favorite of this collection and made the whole thing worth it, even though I found most of the other stories kinda forgettable. Many of them I enjoyed while I was reading them but they didn't really stick with me. I would be very interested to read a full length novel by this author because I do love her sensibilities and her writing style is fun and easy to read.
July 12, 2024
I liked this a lot! 4.5 stars!
The stories were diverse, well written, and interesting. A lot of them ended with very little resolution but I guess maybe that’s what you do with short stories - provide little snippets. I was impressed by the worlds and characters Marshall was able to craft and how easy it was to slip into the characters each time, they were well developed and sympathetic, but also diverse and really engaging in terms of highlighting various aspects of being a woman and what that feels and looks like in the world.
Also, worth saying: love! the! title!
Made it very fun for me every time someone asked me what I was reading and I got to say it out loud.
The stories were diverse, well written, and interesting. A lot of them ended with very little resolution but I guess maybe that’s what you do with short stories - provide little snippets. I was impressed by the worlds and characters Marshall was able to craft and how easy it was to slip into the characters each time, they were well developed and sympathetic, but also diverse and really engaging in terms of highlighting various aspects of being a woman and what that feels and looks like in the world.
Also, worth saying: love! the! title!
Made it very fun for me every time someone asked me what I was reading and I got to say it out loud.
February 2, 2024
wowowow this book is so good. it starts out disturbing and by the end it’s so heartfelt. every story is a 10 i just wish some of them were longer. the women are so in peril and now so am i (but in a good way?)
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