Diary of a Void: A Novel

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker NPR WBEZs Nerdette The New York Public Library Literary Hub A New York Times Editors Choice One of the most passionate cases Ive ever read for female interiority, for womens creative pulse and rich inner life. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker Always expect the unexpected when youre not expecting. Sloane Crosley A woman in Tokyo avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that shes 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 workplacea manufacturer of cardboard tubesshe is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she cant clear away her coworkers dirty cupsbecause shes pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is . . . Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesnt have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isnt forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata rests, watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. Shes finally being treated by her colleagues as more than a hollow core. But she 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 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.