Our January Ink & Drink book club choice was Diary of a Void, a hilarious, feminist read from the new star of Japanese fiction, Emi Yagi.
For the sake of women everywhere, Ms Shibata is going to pull off the mother of all deceptions...
As the only woman in her office, Ms Shibata is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can't clear away her co-workers' dirty cups - because she's pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is... Ms Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms Shibata doesn't have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms Shibata isn't forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms Shibata can rest, watch TV, take long baths, and even join an aerobics class for expectant mothers. 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. Just how far will Ms Shibata go?
With a sharp and inspired translation from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North, the novel has been described as the perfect read for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Breasts and Eggs. Let us help you discover this prizewinning, thrillingly subversive new novel with our Ink & Drink questions:
What was your overall impression of Ms Shibata as a protagonist? Did you like or trust her?
What do you think Ms Shibata's friend, Hosono, symbolises in the novel, and how do Shibata's chance encounters with her on the street frame the narrative?
Shibata's colleague, Higashinakano, is the most dominant masculine presence in the book. How does the author choose to portray him, and why?
On page 56, Shibata describes how "the whole office was in a panic" when she went out as they didn't know who was going to take over the coffee duties. Higashinakano tries, and fails, to make the coffee, spilling it all over himself. What is the significance of this scene in relation to the novel's exploration of gender roles and stereotypes in society?
Shibata feels a strong connection to the Virgin Mary, speaking aloud to her figure in a stained-glass window about motherhood. How do you think the novel uses Christianity to interrogate ideals of morality and societal codes of conduct?
Whilst on holiday in Turkey, Shibata deliberates about buying a rug that she likes, considering the cost of an item that would be used "just to make [her] apartment look nice". The size of her apartment is also described in the traditional Japanese measurements of tatami mats. In what other ways does the novel explore the contrasts of purpose and pleasure, and how do these examples feed into the novel's ideas around consumerism, capitalism and Shibata's work/life balance?
What is the significance of Shibata's role working for a company that produces paper cores? Do you think she enjoys her job?
What did you make of the characters in Shibata's 'Mommy Aerobics' class? Why do you think she chose to join the group?
How do you think the novel investigates ideas of form? Did you read the novel as a story or do you think that the book is actually Shibata's diary, working as a depiction of her interior monologue?
Did you believe at any point that Shibata was actually pregnant? If so, how and why do you think the author chose to blur the lines of reality to this extent?
Overall, at our Ink & Drink book club we all thoroughly enjoyed reading Diary of a Void, and it left us all questioning the idea of empty spaces and expectations. You can buy your copy here.
For our next Ink & Drink book club, held on Wednesday Feb 22 at 6.30pm, we will be reading Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez. You can sign up and buy your copy here.
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro 'Prieto' Acevedo, are bold-faced names in New York City society: Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying, Latinx neighbourhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the wedding planner to Manhattan's richest and most demanding clientele.
But the glamorous hoopla conceals a darker reality. Years ago, Olga and Prieto's mother abandoned her children to join a radical political organisation fighting for the liberation of Puerto Rico. Now, in the wake of the most devastating hurricane in the island's history, Blanca has come barrelling back into her children's lives.
Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream - all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.
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