Deliverywoman

by Eva Wyles

'The loneliness and longing of the characters in Deliverywoman really stayed with me, I found these stories haunting and beautifully constructed.'

– Daisy Johnson, author of The Hotel

'Eva Wyles has a knack for skewering life in all its messy glory and she does so with an unwavering eye. Visceral and deeply sexy, these stories wriggle under your skin and tug at you long after reading.'

– Orlaine McDonald, author of No Small Thing

Deliverywoman is the stunning debut collection from Eva Wyles – thirteen short stories that dive into the complexities of human connection, the pursuit of meaning, and modern-day loneliness.

Across a diverse cast of characters – from teachers and gas station workers to hedonistic revellers and wealthy gamers – Wyles explores the strange dimensions of our world and the dangers of ordinary life, with needle-sharp writing both real and surreal.

Deliverywoman sits alongside A.M.Homes' The Safety of Objects and Ottessa Moshfegh's Homesick for Another World, announcing the arrival of a powerful new voice in contemporary fiction.

Genres: Short Stories

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Helen Blenkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva Eva, first time reading published stories written by a dear friend and what a lovely experience it was. Familiar in so many ways, but also took me to completely new places! Everyone go read it!

[Caitlin Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely savoured this book. Gentle but also kinda devastating. The characters are vivid and believable within just a few pages. We did this for bookclub in the park and didn’t stop talking about it until it got dark.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this!

[raniera]

the localism of the stories was really enjoyable to me, but maybe mainly because I don’t live in Wellington at the moment. in fact so local to know what was going to happen in one of the stories, because it’s based in part upon a true story that happened to people I knew. that made my head spin a bit.

[Sophy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well for the first time ever I am reviewing a free Advanced Reader Copy (woop woop!!) from Influx Press in return for an honest review!

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with short story collections. Sometimes they really work, sometimes they're awful. Thankfully this collection by Eva Wyles was in the former category. There were some real gems in here, the titular Deliverywoman, Good Boy, Bad Kid, Simon Eagle and Dave being stand out stories for me. I liked how the characters were often "off" as in messy, unpredictable, judgmental, much like us real life humans! For short stories, they all had a great story arc and narrative, with Wyles really managing to get into the bones of a relationship within a limited amount of pages.

The only gripes I do have and that drops the collection from a 5 to a 4 star is :-

a) the animal cruelty (Callum the rabbit, just no and the kitten, no, just no)

b) Wyles can't write sex scenes/thoughts for shit! :-

This for example of two gay guys f**king in a bathroom "When I took him to the bathroom, it felt like I was taking his virginity. I liked the way his small bottom hung in the air, waiting for me......" WTAF?!! Where did you conjure that line up from?!

And this line from a girl thinking about f**king a guy but remembering her ex-girlfriend "I thought maybe I could sleep with him, that maybe his penis might not be as tan as the rest of him, but it could be an advantageous way of getting over the ex-girlfriend, to have sex with something that she would never be able to give me, but then I realised I don't like penises, only the plastic kind strapped to a thrumming vagina......." ERM!!!! Thrumming vagina?? O-kayyyyyyy!

Apart from these two issues, the collection was really good and one I'll likely return to in the future.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim at Unity Books because I love short stories but haven't read many collections in the last few years. What a find. Will definitely be checking out more by Eva Wyles in future. Great writing, interesting characters, and creative concepts.
My favourite stories were Good Boy, Simon Eagle, Familial Reunions and A Little Mess.

[Rue Baldry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written collection of stories with lots of different settings, mostly realistic but some speculative, which knit together through themes of loneliness, emptiness, hope and humanity.

The characters are all different, too, but with a shared solitariness at their core. They are believable and sympathetic, even though we might question the advisability or kindness of their actions.

The setups are well done, as are dialogue and what little action there is. I may be missing things, but I feel that Wyles’ weakness is with endings. I’m all for some open endings, but none of these tie up at all.

The prose is taut and feels clean, but lots of imaginative imagery is snuck in under the apparent straightforwardness. I am certainly very glad that I read this collection.

[Mil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva Wyles! What a special and poignant collection of stories. A must read - Eva’s characters and the worlds she drops you into stay with you long after you’ve finished 💖💖💖

[Maria cousins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came across this book after hearing the author was due to do a talk at a local store. First time reading short story format in a long time - and I loved it. Wonderful writing, characters and settings all combined to make this a wonderful read. Some stories stayed with me longer than others, like Good Boy, Dave and Familial Reunions. I have a feeling I'll pic this one up as an annual read. Recommend

[Nathália · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So, sorry”, “It waits” and “Deliverywoman” really blew my mind.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a collection of short stories there are always ones that will stick with you more and for me the standout stories were Twinning and Deliverywoman.

All of the stories touch on modern loneliness, society, and human connection - a reminder of alternate realities of lives depending on class, jobs, and family.

Twinning was so clever and witty with such an interesting story that I think would have made a great film - with rich people playing a game of ‘Separated Twins’ where they have to bring together twins separated at birth who are on separate levels of the wealth divide.

The title story, Deliverywoman, had really sad undertones and shows a post-pandemic world where people live at work and don’t go outside or have human contact. I really enjoyed this one and could have happily read a novel about it.

The stories are all short and sweet, with elements that make them so raw and real that it felt familiar but so new and original.

[Kiran Trivedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a lot of the book trying to figure out what the theme of this collection is. Each of the characters has a loneliness and longing about them that is very moving. As with any collection, some stories were better than others - in some cases I finished a story unsure what the writer was trying to say, what feeling was meant to be evoked in me. Others, I was thinking for days and weeks afterwards and relating deeply to the internal monologues, thoughts and anxieties that these characters experienced. A great collection of literary fiction overall.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliverywoman is brilliant. The stories observe with insight how small moments can be momentous. They are sometimes gentle or dream-like, other times raw and disturbingly real. Each story is standalone and each is a totally satisfying read. I could really relate to her characters as they struggle with difficult times – not always with dignity but eventually with some sense of hope. I’ve read several stories more than once and fresh layers kept emerging.

[Emma Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this felt like looking around at everyone on the train and wondering who those people are, in every sense, and finally being able to know:,) this book reminded me why reading is so important to me, to feel a greater understanding and connection to the endless ways people and their lives differ from one another but ultimately experience the same grief, vulnerability, loneliness, and joy. beautiful book to read in the depths of autumn/winter!!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive debut collection of short stories

Standouts for me were ‘Deliverywoman’ and ‘Good Boy’, however I enjoyed all of the stories because they each had a unique voice, yet linked themes of loneliness and the mundane in a subtle way. Very skilled writing to be able to capture this level depth and complexity of human emotion in such short stories - would recommend :))

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bold, brilliant, and urgent — Deliverywomen by Eva Wyles exposes ideas of love, pain, the real and the imagined. I could not keep my eyes off it. Stories linger in my mind for days after. Truly a masterpiece.

[Amaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a completely new individual, it kept this read dynamic and engaging. The author's narrative voice is captivating, adding depth to each perspective and highlighting the unique journey that every human goes on.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful, often melancholic, collection of stories that speak to the fragility and fleating nature of life and the present moment. the second to last story was my favourite, maybe because it had an element of the fantastical to it. a book of lovingly crafted sentences!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book for feeling lonely in busy places

[alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25.

Lots of snippets of the mundane and average without being such. Some real standouts (twinning, deliverywoman) but an enjoyable enough reading experience.

[Emma Houpt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most delightful series of short stories. Thank you Eva for writing a book that is impossible to put down!

[Ashley Lamont · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Sam Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable. This broke my streak of picking up books I didn't want to finish. Since recommended to a few friends all of whom have enjoyed it