Book Review: These Women by Ivy Pochoda

“In West Adams, a rapidly changing part of South Los Angeles, they’re referred to as “these women.” These women on the corner … These women in the club … These women who won’t stop asking questions … These women who got what they deserved … 

In her masterful new novel, Ivy Pochoda creates a kaleidoscope of loss, power, and hope featuring five very different women whose lives are steeped in danger and anguish. They’re connected by one man and his deadly obsession, though not all of them know that yet.”

-blurb from HarperCollins Publishers 

These Women follows the stories of five different women living in Los Angeles amidst a string of murders that, after fifteen years of waiting, the murderer has returned. Each woman has been affected by the murders in different ways: Feelia, the sole survivor of the murderer (which no one believes); Dorian, the mother of murdered teen daughter Lecia; Julianna, the now-adult girl who had been babysitted by Lecia the night she was murdered; Essie, the previous homicide-detective who is the only one that seems to connect the killings as the work of a serial killer; Marella, the artist and neighbor of Julianna who wants her violent art to be seen as truth of the treatment of women; and Anneke, the stern, cold mother of Marella that thinks keeping her home and family in order is key to keeping the chaos at bay. The book highlights each woman’s perspective as the story goes one, each story folding into one another until the pieces are woven together to reveal the whole tapestry. 

Likes

Pochoda’s writing is beautiful and brings a poetic touch to the sadness that surrounds these women, the fear that ties them together. While I usually feel overwhelmed with stories that hop from character to character, I didn’t feel this way with These Women. Each woman is unique, with distinct voices and styles that make them stand out from one another. Pochoda also ties each character together subtly until the connections come screeching to a halt in front of you. This includes the weather in Los Angeles; it seemed so inconsequential to have rain (though as a born-and-raised Midwesterner, I might be a little more used to random weather than Californians) but do not mistake it as Pochoda making for moody scenery. There is a reason behind all of her choices, and the culmination of all these little seeds that had been planted throughout the story was genius to me. 

Dislikes

The story opened with Feelia’s retelling her attack, then jumping to 2014 with Dorian’s story. It was a little jarring to go from Feelia’s violent story and strong personality, to then Dorian and her fish shop. It slowed down with her story (somewhat) and I was a little confused as to how they would connect...but Pochoda did not disappoint and I’m so glad I stuck with it.

Ending

Each woman’s story was like a domino that fell into one another, until they all came down together at the end for the final reveal. I had no idea who the killer was, who the woman stalking Feelia was, who was to be trusted until the moment it was revealed. I felt what the character was feeling, that we were both realizing the truth at the same, terrifying moment. It was completely 

Final Verdict:

I’m already putting this as one of my favorite books for 2021, and it’s barely February. Pochoda’s writing is beautiful, and she breathes life into each character, giving them all such unique voices I could hear in my head while reading. This one has kept me coming back to it, even after the final page was turned.