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Diary of a void : a novel / Emi Yagi ; translated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Japanese Publisher: [New York] : Viking, 2022Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First English-language editionDescription: 213 pages ; 20 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780143136873
  • 0143136879
Uniform titles:
  • Kūshin techō. English
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Summary: "When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that, as the only woman at her new workplace-a company that manufactures cardboard tubes-she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her colleagues' dirty cups-because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is ... Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesn't have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isn't forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata rests, watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. But pregnant Ms. Shibata also has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Helped along by towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app on which she can log every stage of her "pregnancy," she feels prepared to play the game for the long haul. Before long, though, the hoax becomes all-absorbing, and the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve. A surreal and wryly humorous cultural critique, Diary of a Void is bound to become a landmark in feminist world literature"-- Provided by publisher
List(s) this item appears in: FPL Staff's Favorite Books 2023 Fiction notes: Click to open in new window
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Fiction Adult Display - Second Floor YAGI, EMI 2023 Staff Faves Available 33111010956353
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker · NPR · WBEZ's Nerdette · The New York Public Library · Literary Hub

A New York Times Editors' Choice

"One of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse and rich inner life." ―Katy Waldman, The New Yorker

"Always expect the unexpected when you're not expecting." ―Sloane Crosley

A woman in Tokyo avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that she's pregnant in this prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about the mother of all deceptions, for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Breasts and Eggs

When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that as the only woman at her new workplace--a manufacturer of cardboard tubes--she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her coworkers' dirty cups--because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is . . . Ms. Shibata is not pregnant.

Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesn't have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isn't forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. She's living a year of rest and relaxation, and is finally being treated by her colleagues as more than a hollow core. But she has a ruse to keep up. Before long, it becomes all-absorbing, and with the help of towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app that tracks every stage of her "pregnancy," the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve.

Surreal and absurdist, and with a winning matter-of-factness, a light touch, and a refreshing sensitivity to mental health, Diary of a Void will keep you turning the pages to see just how far Ms. Shibata will carry her deception for the sake of women, and especially working mothers, everywhere.

"Originally published in Japan ... by Chikumashobo Ltd., Tokyo, in 2020 ... Copyright ©2020 by Emi Yagi. Translation copyright ©2022 by David Boyd and Lucy North."--Title page verso

"When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that, as the only woman at her new workplace-a company that manufactures cardboard tubes-she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her colleagues' dirty cups-because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is ... Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesn't have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isn't forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata rests, watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. But pregnant Ms. Shibata also has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Helped along by towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app on which she can log every stage of her "pregnancy," she feels prepared to play the game for the long haul. Before long, though, the hoax becomes all-absorbing, and the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve. A surreal and wryly humorous cultural critique, Diary of a Void is bound to become a landmark in feminist world literature"-- Provided by publisher

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