Women, Seated

by Zhang Yueran, Jeremy Tiang (translator)

A riveting story of a powerful Chinese family's fall from grace

Enter the world of an elite Chinese a life of luxury, wealth, and around-the-clock service, which includes their trusted nanny, Yu Ling. Slipping in and out of the shadows, meticulous in her care of their only son, she has served the family for years and knows their secrets. But little do they suspect that Yu Ling has secrets of her own.

In the pressure-cooker political environment of China, the fates of even the most powerful families can reverse overnight. When the family becomes the subject of a government investigation, their fortunes crumble, and the nanny is left to make a series of life-changing choices. How far will she go to claim her due?

Taut and enthralling, Women, Seated is a high-stakes story of power and privilege, crimes and secrets, and the elusive pursuit of personal freedom.

Genres: Fiction, China, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Asia, Audiobook, Adult

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2025

About the author

Zhang Yueran (Chinese:张悦然, born 1982) is a Chinese writer. Her main works include short stories and novels. She won the 2001 New Concept Composition Competition organised by Mengya magazine.She is one of a small group of successful Chinese authors known as the "post-'80s" generation.
She began writing at the age of 14, and as a high school student, won first prize in the nationwide New Concept Composition Competition. After studying English and law at Shandong University, she completed a graduate degree in computer science at Singapore University. She is one of the most popular young writers in mainland China today. Her published works include Red Shoes (Hong Xie), Ten Tales of Love (Shi Ai) and Oath Bird (Shi Niao).

张悦然，1982年出生于山东济南，初中于山东大学附属中学毕业。2001年毕业于山东省实验中学，后考入山东大学英语、法律双学位班，于新加坡国立大学计算机专业本科毕业，中国传媒大学新闻专业研究生毕业，现就读北京语言大学，攻读古典文学专业。已出版作品有：短篇小说集《葵花走失在1890》、《 张悦然十爱》。长篇小说《樱桃之远》、《水仙已乘鲤鱼去》、《誓鸟》，图文小说集《红鞋》，主编主题书《鲤》系列等，是中国最具影响力的青年作家之一。
　　张悦然从14岁开始发表文学作品，先后在《青年思想家》、《收获》、《人民文学》、《芙蓉》、《花城》、《小说界》、《上海文学》等重要文学期刊发表作品。其作《陶之陨》、《黑猫不睡》等作品在《萌芽》杂志发表后，在青少年文坛引起巨大反响，并被《新华文摘》等多家报刊转载。2001年获第三届"新概念作文大赛"一等奖。2002年被萌芽网站评为“最富才情的女作家”,"最受欢迎女作家"。2003年在新加坡获得第五届"新加坡大专文学奖"第二名，同年获得《上海文学》"文学新人大奖赛"二等奖。2004年获第三届"华语传媒大奖"最具潜力新人奖。2005年获得春天文学奖。最新长篇小说《誓鸟》被评选为"2006年中国小说排行榜"最佳长篇小说。2008年，张悦然以《月圆之夜及其他》获得2008年度“茅台杯”人民文学奖优秀散文奖。2010年10月诺贝尔文学奖揭晓之际，在强烈的诺贝尔奖情结驱动下，网络忽然风传黄士诚、韩寒、张悦然和郭敬明入选为中国“文坛四大天王”，组成了一支能够有希望劈开中国无缘诺贝尔文学奖魔咒的中国文坛劲旅。

Reviews

[Yun · Rating 4 out of 5]

People say the poor love to dream, but that isn't quite right. Dreaming is the privilege of the moneyed, and the world has all kinds of ways to protect their dreams.

What a quietly fascinating read Women, Seated turned out to be, and I was riveted from the first page to the last.

I don't see a lot of contemporary Chinese novels making their way out of China. So when I heard Riverhead had hired a new Mandarin-speaking editor committed towards that goal, and this was the first such book to be translated and published under that effort, of course my interests were instantly peaked.

This story is told through the eyes of the nanny Yu Ling. She works for this wealthy and powerful family, looking after their son. But when things start to go wrong for the family, where does that leave her and the child she looks after?

This felt like such an interesting exploration of class and gender. At first, it seems like the focus is solely on wealth and privilege. Yu Ling is envious of the family and the madam that she works for. They hold all this power and all this money. If only she could get some from them, she too would be set. But then as the story unfolds, she starts to realize that maybe she (poor as can be) and the madam (wealthy as can be) both dance to the tune of the men around them.

I feel like the messages in this book are so subtle, they're not at all in your face. If you were to read the story at surface level, there doesn't seem much there. But underneath, there are so many layers, it's quite compelling.

Going in, I wasn't sure how much of this story I would find relevant only to life in modern China versus being applicable everywhere. But I was happy to see that my concerns were unfounded. Yu Ling's struggles with her place in the family and in the world are as pertinent in the East as here in the West.

I'm looking at the low rating for this book, and I'm a little bit surprised. I wonder if it's partly due to the miscategorization of this story. The blurb, with all of its references to "secrets" and "life-changing choices," seems to imply this is more suspenseful and plot-driven than it really is. In fact, I would say the plot doesn't much matter here at all. This is really all about the characters.

So if you're in the mood for a quiet, reflective, character-driven story, this is well worth a look. As for me, I can't wait to see what other Chinese literature Riverhead brings over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

so me.

in many ways this book had no plot, but in even more there was so much going on.

an abandoned kidnapping plot. an arrest. multiple secrets, and then secrets about the secrets. a pet goose. a counselor from fat camp turned girlfriend turned personal trainer. wealth, poverty, theft, misogyny, power, weakness.

i struggled to settle into this book at first but assumed that was because i was starting it at the bar of an airport margaritaville, and then on a wildly delayed spirit airlines flight, two circumstances neither humans nor books should find themselves in.

but it never went away.

i kept waiting for it to coalesce into something broader or at least more connected but it never did. when it ended i made a sound i can only describe as a guffaw.

bottom line: bummer.

(thanks to the publisher for the copy)

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An upstairs downstairs story from a Chinese perspective - I love the exploration of power structures (there’s a definitive Triangle of Sadness “I’m the captain now” moment which was wonderful). The lies and truths feel artfully woven through the story.

But, dear readers, help me out: in the end the thumb drive has nothing incriminating, right? So it was all for naught and they’ve ended up with the consequences of their own actions and no Deus Ex Machina?

[Isabel Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and suspenseful. Interesting power dynamics. The goose of it all was funny. Unsurprisingly, I loved all the stuff about being a woman + caretaker and sacrifice. Maybe I am dumb but I AM REALLY CONFUSED BY THE LAST TWO PAGES and bc it’s an ARC I can’t look up the ending anywhere.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
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.
detailed review is now up on my blog(link in bio)
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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...

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘Please forgive my selfishness, but after all, isn’t that exactly the quality a nanny ought to have? A nanny has to build her life within someone else’s, like a painting within a painting.’” (181)

I liked a solid 99% of this book.

Most of it revolves around Yu Ling—a nanny for a very wealthy, influential family in Hong Kong. When members of the household are arrested on charges of corruption, Yu Ling finds herself in a bind. With a fair weather lover, she had planned to use the controversy as a shield to ransom the family’s young son. But, she has a change of heart and finds herself mostly alone (save a few intermittent guests), taking care of the boy—and the goose he adopted that he believes to be a swan—while trying to navigate this complicated situation and her even more fraught feelings towards her employers and their whole privileged class.

It’s a peculiar read.

For most of the book, you feel like you’re wandering through the rooms of a mansion, noticing every awful detail but also noting how vacuous it all is. Yu Ling is mostly an observer—of her employers’ lives but also of her own life as well. The only action she ever really performs is sacrifice. She’s made self-abnegation an art.

That said, I don’t know if I’d describe this book as being about sacrifice or even about providing commentary on class inequality?

To me, this book is about the many indignities that women suffer in this life.

Being a woman seems to be the biggest indignity of all.

No matter your class or circumstances, you are relegated to this second-class, seen and not heard, pretty decoration, dutiful servant, repository for male altruism, selfless caretaker role. We are to make being all of that into an art.

But, it’s just a painting within a painting.

There’s nothing refined about it. Nothing beautiful or charming. You can pretend all you want. But, you’re just a goose, never a swan. The blood reveals all.

I liked all of THAT.

I thought that was something for this story to explore. I related to a lot of those feelings. Each female character in this story feels representative of different facets of the indignities women face—often for no reason other than mistake of birth. Being a woman is awful for what reasons? To whose benefit? I can’t help it—I like stories like that.

But, the ending could have been just a little stronger?

For me, it doesn’t totally hit the mark—unless the “secret information” that Yu Ling discovers was intended to be one final indignity landed upon the wife. Like, the wife thought she was important and powerful at least for this ONE thing—and that’s not even true. All these sacrifices made and indignities suffered are for naught. How foolish to think otherwise.

We are to be laughed at and that’s all.

Maybe I’ve talked myself into liking it a bit more actually? (Man, I keep doing that.)

Anyway.

If you enjoy a peculiar, contemporary fiction read with an international setting and a helping of suspense blended with a bit of simmering, female resentment, this may be a book worth checking out~

[olishmou · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5.

L’hôtel du Cygne est l’un de ces romans qui, du point de vue des idées (l’intrigue, les personnages, etc.), m’impressionnent et semblent avoir tout pour me plaisir; en effet, le kidnapping échoué d’un enfant qui mène à la découverte d’un amour plus profond pour ce dernier par sa nourrice est un concept percutant, dont l’exécution me laisse un peu perplexe. La plume n’a pas particulièrement brillé, et j’ai trouvé certains passages moins forts. Il en demeure que l’évolution psychologique de la protagoniste a été très bien traitée.

[Sam Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zhang’s Women, Seated, translated by Tiang, follows Yu Ling’s kidnapping of and care for Kuan Kuan, her employer’s young son. Yu Ling nannies for Qin Wen and Hu Yafei’s household in Beijing, a wealthy and influential family in the Chinese government. The day Yu Ling and Donghu, her accomplice, execute their plan to hold Kuan Kuan for ransom, the police arrest Hu Yafei and Qin Wen’s dad. Yu Ling and Kuan Kuan end up returning to the house, picking up a white goose along the way. As Yu Ling contemplates her decisions and life trajectory, Qin Wen returns, and the two commiserate, arriving at a mutual understanding that their reality as women brings limitations. Their society’s culture keeps women seated.

The book’s strength is the centrality of women and pondering the relational dynamics between persons who identify with two different socioeconomic classes. The goal interests me enough. However, the novel perhaps doesn’t critique the reasons behind the way Chinese people inhabit distinct classes in the first place, and I longed for this discussion (pardon my ignorance: I’m unsure if that’s allowed; also, I recognize this may not be Yueran’s goal). I appreciate the goose, Swan, which brings the occasional comic relief, symbolizes auspiciousness, and gets slaughtered inside the house. In Chinese, goose and swan include the same character, 鹅, which raises questions about rank in the Anatidae family that parallels human hierarchical structures.

The marketing emphasis on “the elite” might be misleading. We hear of Qin Wen’s wealth and her family’s importance, but Zhang didn’t sufficiently bring me into Qin Wen’s world. And, while I believed more that Yu Ling comes from a less wealthy family, in contrast, based on her internal dialogues and reflections of her past, her character also requires more development (in my humble opinion). On both fronts, I itched for more world-building. Stated differently, the book’s descriptive blurb is not inaccurate—readers see “downfall,” “patriarchy,” “Chinese politician,” “suspenseful secrets.” But I waited for Zhang to showcase the elements (e.g., paint a wildly vivid picture of patriarchal oppression and discrimination of women, etc.) with bravado, and the displayed product hides in the subtle.

In theory, I understand including Qin Wen’s perspective as a counterpoint to Yu Ling’s. I’m unsure about the execution, though; Qin Wen’s monologue after returning to the house feels misplaced or unevenly inserted. Furthermore, some strands of the story require further attention. What was up with Donghu? He up and dips so oddly from Yu Ling’s life and the storyline at large. Is this supposed to function as an example of how a man leaves? Finally, who pays Yu Ling to care for Kuan Kuan moving forward? I might’ve missed this answer in the book.

I rate Women, Seated 3.5 stars, and I look forward to more of Zhang’s future novels and Tiang’s work. I excitedly anticipate the curated reads from Han Zhang via Riverhead’s “new line of fiction translated from Chinese.”

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short novel, set among the wealthy in modern-day China, deals with women and their sacrifices and secrets and the age old issue of power/dominance of some over the subservience/servitude of others. The main character began working for the wealthy family in question as a helper to the mother, an aspiring artist. She then became the nanny to the artist’s child, and formed a close bond with him. The reader sees the absolute obligation of the nanny to obey and serve her employers – both the mother (in her studio and with the child)and the father (to the extent he pays attention to domestic life at all). To better herself, the nanny forms a plan with her boyfriend to kidnap the child for ransom; however, the plan goes awry when the child’s father and grandfather are arrested, and the mother (an artist) goes missing. The nanny returns to the mansion with the child, where they try to figure out their new world. They are joined by the father’s mistress, who adds comic relief. The mother returns, having hidden from arrest, run out of money and walked for many days. Of course the tables have now completely turned, and the nanny holds the power (since she can turn in the mother for arrest). Added to this group is a goose, who provides not only additional comic relief, but thematic insight as well, since the child believes the goose is a swam.
Each of the women has their own power (or lack thereof) and their own secrets – all of which play out beautifully against the backdrop of life among the wealthy in China. The ending was quite strange (I thought), but appropriate.

[aNeedleinMyBookstack | Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

“In the dream, she believed she was the protagonist of this world, and other people were no more than furniture...easily returned. Only she was fully alive, every pore breathing, every moment full of thought. Of course, she understood how immature these ideas were, but the dream gave her a sense of dignity. In this dream, no matter how poor you were, you could be the main character...”

𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 is set in contemporary Beijing and follows Yu Ling, a nanny working for a wealthy family caring for a precocious seven-year-old boy named Kuan Kuan.  While Yu and Kuan are off on an outing, Kuan Kuan’s politician father, Hu Yafei, and his grandfather are arrested. His mother, artist Qin Wen, disappears and is assumed to be hiding from the authorities, leaving Yu alone with Kuan Kuan in the family’s mansion.  

With just under 200 pages, Women, Seated offers a unique perspective, emerging as a powerful story of class dynamics, the resilience of women, and the illusions perpetuated by wealth.

There is poignant symbolism in the book, including the art created by Qin Wen, a goose that Kuan Kuan insists on bringing home and sees as a swan, and the table where the women are seated, holding an illuminated discussion near the end of the book, reflecting the roles women play in the story.

𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 was the perfect choice for my first #WomanInTranslationMonth read. It’s also the first new translated book by Chinese authors to be offered via Riverhead Books’ focus on publishing translated fiction from around the world — an effort I heartily applaud.

🎧I consumed most of the book on audio, narrated by Cindy Kay Vo, whose voice lends an elegance to the overall narration while creating very distinct characters.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small book that packs a big punch. What starts off as a nanny, to wealthy Chinese family, taking her ward out for an outing, quickly veers into the unexpected. This book interrogates politics and loyalty and the intersection of class and privilege as well as when the wealthy fall from grace. Yu Ling's quiet thoughts are not soon forgotten. A satisfying read.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Héloïse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short but intense read, a perfect mix of soft and tender moments (with a found family trope that I enjoyed a lot and a bunch of interesting characters) as well as more brutal ones. It was also an interesting picture of modern China.

[Aorinko · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'était particulier, mais mims et rapide à lire !

[juliette · Rating 2 out of 5]

what?

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*
I kind of liked the book but I also feel like I didn't understand it or rather I have to think about it again? But it makes me think a lot, which I like!

So what I did not understand: Yu Ling wanted to protect Qin Wen even though Qin Wen obviously uses her as a modern day slave. But then there is nothing on the disc that would have been of use for Qin Wen or the family, which means Hu Yafei never intended to go against his elite colleagues? So in the end the elite protects itself and workers are placed outside of it all just there to serve the elite? Is that it?:D

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. A fun and propulsive read, though ultimately a bit unsatisfying. Yueran explores class and gender differences in contemporary Chinese society through a suspenseful and often comical plot. The pages flew by quickly, but despite discussing the book with several people on here, I’ve been unable to come up with a satisfying explanation for the significance of the ending.

[yelenska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Objectivement : 4 ou 4.5*
Subjectivement : 5*!

[Monica | readingbythebay · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5.

Sincere thanks to @riverheadbooks for the gifted ARC! I think this might be one of the only novels I’ve read translated from Chinese. For some reason I feel like there just aren’t that many Chinese novels translated into English?? So it is wonderful that this is just the first in a planned series of translated fiction from China to be published by @riverheadbooks.

The novel opens with Yu Ling, a live-in nanny for an extremely wealthy and connected Chinese family, preparing to take her young charge, Kuan Kuan, on a spring outing. The reader soon learns that this outing is a ruse, and that she and her cash-strapped boyfriend plan to abduct Kuan Kuan in order to get a ransom. But hours into their plot, the boy’s father is arrested and taken into custody on corruption charges. The spring outing has gone very wrong, indeed.

Underneath the propulsive plot, the author is concerned with exploring class and gender inequalities on a deeper level. Think REMAINS OF THE DAY and PARASITE. Yu Ling is much more of a victim than a criminal, who doesn’t ever feel like the protagonist in her own life. Kuan Kuan’s mother, who makes an impactful appearance later in the book, is likewise dissatisfied with her lack of agency, even though she is wealthy.

One quibble – I didn’t understand the significance of the very end of the book – the last two pages – and it feels important?! That aside, I really enjoyed this.

This page turner is out August 12th!

[oceania · Rating 4 out of 5]

zhang yueran is obviously extremely preoccupied with how history and hierarchy leaves you totally disempowered, no matter how hard you try to exercise your own agency, but also you might find yourself happy and content in such a deterministic existence. between this, cocoon, and her granta short story, i think she might be my most read author of the year….

i find myself again frustrated by the english language ephemera surrounding her work. first of all, swan hotel is a much better title, i have no idea why the eng version had to be called something different and worse. second of all, i kind of hate jeremy tiang’s translation style. i feel bad saying this because zhang and tiang clearly have a very close working relationship, but the english prose was often full of so many small syntactical errors that it distracted me from a narrative that i otherwise really liked. i went and read some excerpts in the original chinese which i thought flowed better, so maybe i should just be reading that instead.

[Alec Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short, meditative read. Don't have much to say, only that it's one of the rare novels that get translated from Chinese -> English and feature an exploration of modern China and its complexities.

[TheVegetarianAntichrist · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
No idea what happened in the end. Someone explain please.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid short read that explores social class and privilege. The young son character, Kuan Kuan made this book very endearing.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was good, but I wasn’t having a good time reading it tbh

[Sheila Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read. The plot surprised me, the characters were different. The themes were Chinese and universal at the same time. The author took great care with the book. It’s a view inside modern China that’s fascinating. It must also be politically correct, or it wouldn’t be sold in China much less available in translation. At 208 pages, it’s worth a try.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful novel which concerns itself with corruption in modern day China. The juxtaposition of a very wealthy family and their nanny is the armature on which the story is based. Position and influence seem to come and go in China quite quickly, should one incur the wrath of the wrong people. It is because of that fact that Zhang Yueran is quite brave to expose way of things as she lives in Beijing .

[silver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not even sure what was happening and why I was supposed to care

[jessicaslitfics · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book that delves into class politics in China. In this story we follow a rich family’s nanny Yu Ling, as she navigates the sudden arrest of the father of the family, the disappearance of the mother, and an extended family not interested in helping care for the child that’s now left under her care by default, and the goose he decided to buy as a pet.

Although this book is short, it packs a punch. While Yu is mysterious, and we slowly begin to peel back her layers to learn more about her story and complicated past, the most beautiful part of this story is her relationship with the son, Kuan Kuan. As a poor, working class woman who’s only option to survive in her situation is by nannying and caring for someone else’s child, she puts her own life and her own desires for family and security on hold to be the de facto mother to someone else’s child.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of the movie Parasite. Stories like this that quietly and hauntingly explore the dark lives of the rich and powerful from the underestimated outsider’s perspective who may have dark secrets of their own.

[Kate ling · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - I guess I was hoping for a more action packed story than internal monologues. Yes, we get it, she’s from a different class than her boss. Yes, her bosses were kind of a$$holes but I don’t get why she had to stay. Also her partner in crime is also another questionable character and yet she judges the other nanny for stealing? Like girl did you not see how conflicted your morality/value is? You are literally kidnapping your employer’s son. lol she could’ve gone back to the interior designer’s office for work but she stayed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Victoria Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but powerful story.