Rather than attempting to escape the “oh my god working retail in December” frazzle through literature, I instead seem to be gravitating toward novels about women working in stores. First, Shopgirl, and now Madeleine St John’s The Women in Black. Fittingly, this novel is set in the weeks before Christmas in an upmarket department store, F.G. Goodes, in 1950s Sydney.

‘It is very beautiful here,’ said Magda to Stefan as the sun went down, ‘it really is.’
‘Are you happy?’ he asked her.
‘Of course not!’ said Magda. ‘What a very vulgar suggestion. Are you?’
‘Oh dear, I hope not,’ said Stefan.

Lesley Miles is a quiet schoolgirl who has just completed her high school Leaving Certificate, she takes a temporary job at Goodes in the Ladies’ Cocktail Frocks department while anxiously awaiting her results. Patty Williams is in an unhappy marriage with a drunk, Fay Baines is single and not happy about it. Magda is the head of the elite Model Gowns department who takes Lesley under her wing. The Women in Black manages to tease out the drama and tension in the everyday circumstances of the four sales assistants, without resorting to histrionics. There is a quiet tenderness and understanding at play in the interactions between the women and the people in their lives. A deceptively light read with moments of glittering humour and insight, and most importantly, real heart at its core.