Diary of a Void: A Novel | 
On the second day of Christmas…
This wasn‘t my highest ranked book in February, but the story of a woman faking a pregnancy in a male dominated office is the most memorable one. (That ending though 😬)
so-soI might have not given this book the attention it deserved. It didn‘t made me hold my attention though. It‘s about a woman, having a career in Tokyo, who suddenly decides she is pregnant. She‘s fooling everybody. Herself too? I can‘t say. I was more interested in the cover I‘m afraid.
(Photo: Museu de Serralves, Porto, PortugL)
pickThe day Shibata got pregnant was the day she‘d decided she‘d had enough of being expected to do the menial tasks at work, like washing up cups after a meeting, just because she was female. On the whole, I enjoyed this exploration of sexism in the workplace, work-life balance and loneliness, though it did get a little surreal towards the end.
Book 9 #SummerEndReadathon @TheSpineView
Book 14 #Rushathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
pickThe cover design basically insisted I read this book. I love the style and it‘s such a compact little book, just like a diary. Which this is: a fictional diary of a fictional pregnancy conceived by a young Japanese working woman. She‘s tired of her coworkers taking advantage of her and the ever present sexism. So she uses her female body to her advantage. Told in weekly chapters, as she progresses in her pregnancy. Strange but irresistible!
pickAn intriguing read told through a pregnancy diary, about a woman who fakes her pregnancy. Once she told the lie, people begin to treat her differently. She plans to follow through the lie, and in the process, she learns to live the life she wants. It‘s a quirky-turned-surreal read, exploring the roles of women in society and workplace, and of loneliness.
pickA short read based on a woman‘s lie that she is pregnant because she‘s sick of doing all the menial jobs at work that her male coworkers don‘t get asked to do. This was a buddy read with my son and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it
pickIt was amazing to me that a book that's about an elaborate lie was written in such a way that it never made me anxious. I felt confident Shibata would figure out how to deal with everything. When things took a turn for the surreal, I became aware of my own hopes for how things would turn out and how conditioned I am to the traditional roles of women.
pickA fed up female office worker is tired of being stuck doing all chores at her otherwise-male job. One day, she announces - I can't take it anymore, this is gross, I'm pregnant, and I'm going to throw up.
Slight problem - she's not actually pregnant!
But she gets to go home on time for the first time in ages...so maybe it's worth keeping this ruse going? (Cont...)
"My bath doesn't have a reheat function..."
I had no idea this was a thing!
pickThis book is oh so relatable- a woman fakes a pregnancy at work in order to get out of doing all of the menial tasks her all male departments takes for granted she will do. It gets a little weird towards the end, but overall it‘s a great read.
pickI think I liked this book, but I also need someone to explain it to me.
pickAs a childfree person, I‘ve occasionally wondered what it would be like to get the perks of pregnancy. The MC of this Japanese novel takes it a bit further. Tired to being asked to make coffee and do other menial tasks for male coworkers, she announces she‘s pregnant. Her coworkers begin to treat her better, and she carries on the charade outside of work, too. Both feminist and absurd, Yagi‘s novel really spoke to me.
Do you ever just randomly scroll around a buy a book before bed? Great reviews from @catiewithac and @jlhammar convinced me that this would be an interesting unexpected splurge.
Night y‘all! 😴
pick3/5 🌟
About a woman in Japan who pretends to be pregnant to avoid doing sexist tasks at work. Intriguing premise and the first part of the book was interesting enough but somewhere towards the end, it became a bit surreal and lost its way.
The premise of a woman faking being pregnant to her work, and a tag line about becoming a landmark part of feminist literature, is what pulled me into this book. There are many social observations through the novel that made me laugh at having them pointed out in that way, but on the whole, I didn‘t find this book thrilling or subversive as listed. It‘s interesting and the main character can be compelling but that comes & goes.
pickPicked this up on a Kinokuniya visit when I wasn‘t going to buy anything and then this somehow ended up in my hands? It was weirdly delightful. Highly recommend it if it interests you.
pickThe very unpregnant 34-year-old Shibata tells her coworkers she‘s expecting. What follows is a sweet and fun story with some clever commentary on women‘s roles and bodies. An offbeat delight!
I was hooked from the translator‘s note… so far I‘ve found this to be funny and engrossing. I‘ll keep you posted!
pickIf you don‘t like surrealist books, this is not the book for you. Great feminist story about a woman who fakes a pregnancy because she‘s fed up with the additional tasks (making/serving coffee, cleaning coffee cups, picking up the trash, changing the ink cartridge, passing out snacks, sending company holiday cards) she‘s expected to do at work as the only woman in her department. Reminded me of Convenience Store Woman.
pickI bought this on impulse the other day and so glad I did! This is a charming little novel about a woman fed up with her clueless male co-workers always expecting her to do menial tasks…so she fakes being pregnant. I like all the Japanese gender norms questioned and undermined in this delightfully deviant feminist novel. 👶🏽
Yay for Friday #bookmail! I am beyond excited for this Japanese debut, winner of the Dazai Osamu Prize. Sounds so fun and absolutely love this cover.
New issue of bookmarks in my mailbox today! The “What‘s New in Asia” feature includes the tagged book. Sounds really good. Such an interesting premise. I guess it won the Dazai Osamu Prize in Japan. The English translation is expected to be published August 9 (US) and I can‘t wait!
