Diary of a void

A hilarious, feminist read from a new star in Japanese fiction.

For the sake of women everywhere, Ms Shibata is going to pull off the mother of all deceptions.

One day at work, Ms Shibata refuses to clear away the coffee cups, because she is pregnant, and cannot bear the smell. The only thing is, Ms Shibata is not pregnant.

At first, the lie offers her freedom. But being a mother-to-be is not easy. Ms Shibata has a nine-month ruse to keep up. Before long, it becomes all absorbing, and with the help of towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app tracking every stage of her imagined baby’s development, the boundary between deception and reality begins to dissolve.

Diary of a Void is a prizewinning Japanese novel about workplace sexism, gender roles and loneliness. Hilarious and unsettling, it is a subversive feminist novel about what happens when a lie takes on a life of its own.

Translated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North

'Incredibly thought-provoking... you'll love Yagi's writing' STYLIST

'A subversive, surreal read that will strike a cord' RED

'One of the most passionate cases I've ever read for female interiority, for women's creative pulse and rich inner life' NEW YORKER