Diary of a void

Yagi, in her riveting and surreal debut, offers a close inspection of the demands of motherhood. Shibata, 34, works at a paper core manufacturer. Though it appears an improvement from her previous position, where she was sexually harassed, the new workplace has its own sexist culture. Shibata soon learns that as the only woman in her section, her responsibilities also include undertaking the traditionally feminine chores of cleaning up after everyone, making coffee, and serving snacks. Sick of it, Shibata invents a lie: she's pregnant. Instantly, the menial tasks go away and people around her begin to treat her with more caution and consideration. She gets to leave early, and treats herself to relaxing baths and dinners by herself. Soon, though, she realizes the lie, though easily created, will need work to uphold. As the weeks progress, Shibata tracks fetus development with an app, eats for two and enrolls in maternity aerobics. The more she works to keep up the fake pregnancy, the more it begins to seem real to her. 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. (Aug.)

Yagi's subversive and surreal debut illuminates the demands of being a woman and a mother in modern society. Thirty-four-year-old Shibata works at a manufacturing company, having fled her previous job to escape sexual harassment. The grinding sameness of her work, where she is expected to do traditionally feminine tasks--washing the dirty dishes, cleaning the refrigerator, distributing snacks--is finally too much. She announces that she can no longer do these tasks, as she is newly pregnant. Shibata is not, in fact, pregnant, but her declaration changes everything. With wonder and delight, narrator Nancy Wu describes how Shibata, no longer expected to work overtime, revels in her newfound freedom. She rests, binge-watches Amazon Prime, and joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. Shibata's satisfaction with her improved circumstances and curiosity about her pregnancy is vibrantly communicated through Wu's narration. Listeners will be entranced by the lengths that she goes to in order to perpetuate her lie, and they, along with Shibata herself, may wonder if there's more to her pregnancy than meets the eye. VERDICT Yagi is an author to watch. Share this original and haunting story with fans of Sayata Murata's Convenience Store Woman.--Sarah Hashimoto