Diary of a Void: A hilarious, feminist read from the new star of Japanese fiction (Paperback) - Emi Yagi

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

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

Ms Shibata refuses to clear away the coffee at work one day, because she's pregnant and can't bear the smell. The only thing is . . . Ms Shibata is not pregnant.

Being a mother-to-be isn't 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 that tracks every stage of her 'pregnancy', the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve.

Discover this prizewinning, thrillingly subversive new novel that's perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Breasts and Eggs.

'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

Translated from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North

About the Author

Emi Yagi (Author)
Emi Yagi is an editor at a women's magazine in Japan. She was born in 1988 and lives in Tokyo. Diary of a Void is her first novel; it won the Osamu Dazai Prize, awarded annually to the best debut work of fiction.

Lucy North (Translator)
Lucy North is a British translator of Japanese fiction and non-fiction. She has translated works by Taeko Kono, Hiromi Kawakami, Fumiko Enchi and Natsuko Imamura.

David Boyd (Translator)
David Boyd is assistant professor of Japanese at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has translated fiction by Hiroko Oyamada and Hideo Furukawa, among others.