Diary of a Void: A hilarious, feminist read from the new star of Japanese fiction

Description

A hilarious Japanese debut novel, where a young woman, thoroughly fed up with gendered expectations at work, announces she's pregnant. She's not. Thirty-four-year-old Ms Shibata works for a company manufacturing cardboard tubes and paper cores in Tokyo. Her job is relatively secure- she's a full-time employee, and the company has a better reputation than her previous workplace, where she was subject to sexual harassment by clients and colleagues. But the job requires working overtime almost every day. Most frustratingly, as the only woman, there's the unspoken expectation that Ms Shibata will handle all the menial chores- serving coffee during meetings, cleaning the kitchenette, coordinating all the gifts sent to the company, emptying the bins. One day, exasperated and fed up, Ms Shibata announces that she can't clear away her colleagues' dirty cups, because she's pregnant. She isn't. But her 'news' brings results- a sudden change in the way she's treated. Immediately a new life begins. Written in diary form, Diary of a Void is an ironic and playful reference to the Japanese 'Maternal and Child Health Handbook' (Boshi Techo; the novel's original title), a notebook issued to all expectant mothers in Japan so they can record the details of their pregnancies and experiences of motherhood until their child is six years old. By turns hilarious and thought-provoking, Ms Shibata's diary of her fake pregnancy not only skewers universal patriarchal attitudes towards maternity and pregnancy, it also challenges the truth of conception on many levels. For fans of Convenience Store Woman, Kim Jiyoung, Born in 1982, and The Vegetarian, this is a wonderfully witty and smart, feminist novel poking fun, but with serious intent, at the sanctity of motherhood, and how society superficially reveres mothers while conversely making actual parenting a sometimes disempowering and isolating experience without the right support.

Emi Yagi was born in 1988, and is currently a corporate employee and an editor. Diary of a Void is her first novel, and it won the 36th Dazai Osamu Prize, awarded annually to debut writers.

If you're in the mood for a matter-of-fact and incredibly thought-provoking read, you'll love Yagi's writing. * Stylist * [Diary of a Void's] subversive premise makes it one of the most intriguing new novels of the summer. * Independent, *Summer Reads of 2022* * Some premises prove so irresistible that they become crutches, excusing a colorless execution. That's not the case here. . . . Diary of a Void advances one of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse and rich inner life. * The New Yorker * Few novels live up to their promise of revelatory social commentary. But a particularly good one can still tempt even the most cynical of readers. . . . Yagi has a light touch for the endless ironies made possible by her premise. There is humor, but also the realization that the alienation of pregnancy and motherhood is no reprieve from the oppressive office culture that inspires Shibata's experiment. -- Lauren Oyler * New York Times Book Review * Delightful . . . Yagi's focus is on how acting pregnant reshapes Shibata's relationship to herself... Yet the book never idealizes pregnancy...We see the difficulty of being a woman with or without a child, and Yagi emphasizes how society makes both roles harder... If you've ever wanted to bite back at a nosy boss, a rude co-worker, an unfair assignment, or the endless list of shoulds we face, then maybe you'll find something to enjoy in Shibata's audacity too. -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan * The Atlantic * The premise . . . is so elegant, it's one of those ideas that feels wonderfully familiar. . . . The tension grows along with the comedic details. . . . Diary of a Void starts as stylish satire about the societal luxuries afforded to pregnant woman, a cri de coeur for those who have yet to make such practical use of their wombs. But it becomes something even more profound. Always expect the unexpected when you're not expecting. -- Sloane Crosley * Departures * A subversive, surreal read that will strike a cord with many women. * Red Magazine * Shibata is a modern-day Bartleby, refusing to work simply because she doesn't want to. . . . Her lie is . . . the lie of the overworked, underpaid, and burned out. . . . The novel's real achievement is its refusal to moralize or elevate anything popularly thought to give life meaning: hard work, motherhood, material success, community. It's nihilistic to the extreme. * The Baffler * Darkly funny and surprisingly tender. -- Kirsty Logan, author of THINGS WE SAY IN THE DARK In Diary of a Void, what begins as a bud of a lie blossoms into a gripping and thought provoking examination of womanhood and motherhood in a patriarchal society. A short read but by no means is this a small story. -- An Yu, author of BRAISED PORK So tightly written, and so much fun to read. -- Kikuko Tsumura, author of THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS AN EASY JOB Comical and tender, absurd, bold and joyful. -- Aysegul Savas, author of WHITE ON WHITE I found myself completely captivated by this novel's unusual and inviting premise and all that it questions and stirs up. -- Aimee Bender, author of THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE I loved it. It's incredible. Diary of a Void is joyful, exuberant, and triumphant. It made my heart sing. -- Claire Oshetsky, author of CHOUETTE Yagi captures Shibata's loneliness and the community she's granted upon 'falling into step' with her married peers in such a keen way that, reading along, you're on pins and needles to discover what will happen as this fake pregnancy runs its course... The [fun] premise pays off. -- Eliza Smith * Literary Hub * Riveting and surreal . . . Absurdist, amusing, and clever, the story brings subtlety and tact to its depiction of workplace discrimination-as well as a touch of magic. Readers will eagerly turn the pages all the way to the bold conclusion. * Publishers Weekly * A surreal, engrossing meditation on loneliness, womanhood, and what it actually means to have a work-life balance. -- Ruth Murai * Mother Jones * Takes office toxicity and how we cope to new heights. * Fortune * Filled with sly humor and touching intimacy, Diary of a Void builds from its revolutionary premise into a powerfully resonant story of longing and defiance. An absolutely thrilling read - I didn't want to put it down. -- Claire Stanford, author of HAPPY FOR YOU In this fictional diary of a pregnant woman, it is the real, rather than the made-up, aspects of society, such as single parenting and discrimination against women in the workplace, that are powerfully depicted. -- Kyoko Nakajima, author of THE LITTLE HOUSE Yagi artfully blurs the boundary between truth and lies with this riotous solution to women's workplace challenges. * The Washington Post * [A] penetrating look at working life and gender expectations... In a tone perfectly modulated in Boyd and North's translation, Shibata's dry observations and choices are both relatable and humorous...At the heart of the story is Yagi's wry and witty consideration of how one woman, tangled up in a web of deceit, struggles to live a meaningful life through work and her relationships with others. * The Japan Times * Charming and funny * Crack Magazine * Far more than an account of a Japanese woman pretending to be pregnant... It is a book that reflects on life, solitude and what it means to be a woman. * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* * Endlessly strange, funny and meaningful... This book is a powerful exploration of what it means to be single and childless, and of the impact of work on our bodies and mental health * Good Housekeeping, *Books of the Year* *