REVIEW: Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

Genre: Contemporary Fiction | 

Release Date: 11th August 2022

Publisher: Random House UK

"Late summer was still dragging on - I was bored with being bored with it."

Shibata is bored, tired and annoyed. She spends her days at work, where she is underpaid and unappreciated, being only addressed by the men who work there when they need a coffee, or need something cleaned. Until one day, she tells them she can't clear up, she feels sick - because she's pregnant. 

But she isn't. She doesn't even know why she says it, at first, but everything changes. She's allowed to leave work on time, she doesn't have to clean up after fully grown men, she's even expected to relax and enjoy herself. But what will happen as the months go by and a baby isn't born? How long can she tell a lie before it spills into her real life?

One interesting thing to note about this book is that in Japanese, Boshi Techō refers to a mother/baby diary where pregnancy and childhood milestones are recorded, similar to the ones we have in the U.K. The original title of this book is Kūshin Techō, replacing the word for mother and child with an 'empty core', or void. 

Shibatas' story starts right away, but then moves slowly, allowing us time with her to explore her relationships and interactions, watching how they develop and change over time - at times it did feel like one of those hot, stifling summers as we waited for something to happen but the characters kept my interest peaked throughout. Her humour, from the moment we meet her, is dry, witty and indescribably relatable. Of course, she isn't without flaw - lying about pregnancy and fertility is a terrible thing to do, but this sits firmly in a grey area, asking the reader to consider that Shibata has only told a lie because the men surrounding her did not acknowledge her as a person before she was pregnant. 

It poses an interesting social commentary on the worlds outdated views of unmarried mothers, on working mothers and the societal expectations of women to manage, to mother, to nurture in all situations without complaint. 

Featuring fully poetic, lyrical prose that suddenly explodes colour and life into the grey, corporate, suffocating setting that is carefully created by Yagi. Because we experience this story from Shibatas perspective, when the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur, it is difficult for us at times to even distinguish ourselves, as we border into a surreal, dream-like state that left my head spinning.

A sarcastic, satirical take on corporate culture and gender roles in a contemporary setting - this book is full of charm and wit, and definitely anything but empty.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.