Diary of a Void is a Japanese novel that follows Shibata – the only woman in her office at a boring corporate job – as she fakes a pregnancy to get out of the additional tasks pushed on her by her male colleagues. Chaos ensues, and by chaos, I mean that she gets to leave the office on time and isn’t expected to clean up after a group of grown men. Since she ‘became pregnant’, the men around Shibata treat her like her health is their business or concern, but her body being seen as public property means that she is actually granted the time and resources to care for it. It’s a novel that shows the lengths someone has to go to fulfil their own human needs under a system that demands we constantly work or procreate. Yet, it’s charming and funny enough not to feel too depressing, while touching on capitalism and connection. MG

Published by Harvill Secker