I have absolutely no idea what to make of this one. It really is one of the strangest books I've read in a very long time. On the surface, it has some jarring narrative similarities with the dreadful Lindsay Lohan film 'Labor Pains' (you won't have heard of it, and that's for the best, trust me) as in both the protagonist decides to fake a pregnancy due to workplace woes, but Diary of a Void's setting and specific context make it something very different. It's at once a satire on Japan's hyper capitalist culture and a denunciation of how, within that capitalist framework, women are undervalued and denigrated, and a wry character study of a young woman who feels trapped and unhappy with her lot in life.

As with a lot of modern Japanese literature, this one is brief and surreal, and I've found myself thinking about it quite a bit in the days since I finished it. I still don't entirely know what happened at the end, but I like that; the potentiality of various narrative possibilities echoes the potentiality of Shibata's new life as a 'mother'.

If you're after a straight-up comedy novel about a woman who fakes a pregnancy and the hilarious japes that ensue, then you might have more luck with the Lindsay Lohan film, but if you want an unusually funny and strange novel about womanhood within capitalism and the reality versus expectations of motherhood, including some genuinely hilarious turns of phrase and quite a lot of talking about cardboard tubes, then you'll love this one.

Diary of a Void is a novel about a woman who fakes being pregnant to improve her work experience. Shibata is the only woman in her office, so is expected to do things like keep the place tidy and make the coffee in addition to her regular duties. When she claims to be pregnant to get out of clearing away the coffee cups and cigarette ends, she is suddenly treated better, able to leave work earlier than before and use this time to make food, watch films, and take baths. A pregnancy aerobics class gives her a new set of friends, and it seems like this all suits her, but of course, it can only last for nine months.

Told from Shibata's first person perspective, the novel combines a look at Japanese workplace culture and the expectations for women in society with an undercurrent of absurdity. The humour is also quite sad, showing a lonely character who delights in being treated a little better and feeling like she has more worth and a place to fit in, all because she is seen to be pregnant. It is well-structured, with the pregnancy app she is using a nice touch as she can use what is apparently the 'normal' experience as her own.

The ending goes slightly surreal, though not particularly weird, and focuses more on the humorous tone than any medical responses to faking a pregnancy. It's a fun book that still cuts at some real issues.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Diary of a Void' by Emi Yagi.

I'll be honest, this has stumped my brain in all ways possible. Diary of a Void is about the only woman in the office who gets sick of doing the cleaning tasks - fair enough, I'd be angry too. Her way of solving this issue? Faking a pregnancy.

This is a common thing and you do hear situations where people fake their pregnancy for attention, to help come to terms with loss, etc etc, but this one was confusing. The story was in the first person narrative and I constantly felt confused as to whether our protagonist was still faking it or if she had miraculously conjured a child. As a result, I felt this story would excel more as a shorter tale. But the ending is what stumped me the most. I had to reread and reread before I understand my mind was just... blown.

Shibata is the only woman at the company where she works, tired of being forced to do the menial tasks and clean up after her male colleagues when it isn’t part of her job. Until one day she decides to announce she’s pregnant, and that she can no longer do jobs like clear the coffee cups away because it triggers her morning sickness….except she isn’t pregnant at all.

I really enjoyed certain parts of this book and watching as Shibata falls further and further into her lie, to the point where reality and fiction start to blur and she starts doing things like eating for two, joining mommy aerobics, picking out baby names and tracking everything on a pregnancy app. It was also really interesting to see how pregnant women are treated in Japanese culture and how much things change for Shibata when she’s viewed as pregnant and treated with respect and like an actual person, compared to a single, childless woman who is expected to cater to everyone else.

Before reading this book the synopsis described it as being “surreal, absurdist and humorous” which is what made me want to pick it up, but unfortunately it just didn’t feel like any of those things to me. Maybe it’s just because I read a ton of strange, truly surreal books but none of this felt particularly surreal or had any weird elements to it, and ultimately the plot and ending just didn’t do anything for me or tie together at the end.

Instead I think this is the perfect book for fans of titles such as Kim Jiyoung born 1982, Convienience Store Woman and Temporary- exploring themes of womanhood, societal expectations, working life, capitalism and motherhood.

Thankyou so much for the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy!