Diary of a Void
Ratings52
Average rating3.6
reminded me alot of convenience store woman. also very thought provoking in a way that it made me think about how I should fake a pregnancy too and how does one go about it (I know it's impossible)
Since I started learning Japanese and learnt more about the culture, I've really enjoyed reading Japanese literature a lot. I can't wait to visit the country next month!
This seemed like an attractive concept, but the execution is what I have trouble with.
Aside from the usual Japanese meta-realistic storytelling style, which slowly insinuates something is maybe not really happening the way you thought it was, but then provides no resolution, this also suffers a particularly dry writing style (at times it almost sounds like product placement, see the whole Amazon Prime tangent) and a form of subtle social criticism that's perhaps way too subtle.
This was a strange read... the writing was immersive and led me through quite an experience
I wanted to like this book so badly because I think the premise was very interesting. Unfortunately, the execution was so-so for me and I found myself bored the majority of the time. Despite my boredom, I still pushed forward to finish the book. Toward the end, I got a bit confused and was thinking maybe Shibata really was going to have a baby. Overall, this had potential to be much better.
I really liked the book for its social critique at the start and I admired how bonkers it went at the end, and yet I felt adrift in the middle where the book kept the reader guessing as to which way it would turn while stalling with too many mundane rituals and thoughts. This might be one of those, where I like the concept more than some of the execution.
This is a pitch-black satire on Japanese office life and the role of women in that society. Shibata hoodwinks her colleagues into believing she's pregnant, and as events move out from there you are left wondering if she's even being truthful with you, the reader, as we get towards the end, and the double meaning of the title becomes apparent. Very entertaining.
