The Dilemmas of Working Women

by Fumio Yamamoto, Brian Bergstrom (Translator)

The classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time - a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women.

Izumi needs to get a job.
Haruka needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer.
Katō needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed.
Mito needs to break up with her boyfriend - or marry him.
Sumie just needs somewhere to live.

In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Audiobook

Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Farda Hus · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

This book is a collection of five stories about women who are shunned or marginalized by modern Japanese society. Here's a quick breakdown of each:
• Story 1: A divorced, unemployed woman – ★★☆☆☆
• Story 2: A woman dealing with the stigma of a past illness – ★☆☆☆☆
• Story 3: A part-time working mother – ★★★☆☆
• Story 4: A young woman torn about marriage – ★☆☆☆☆
• Story 5: A palm reader who rejects societal expectations – ★☆☆☆☆

The third story really hit home for me.

“All I thought about was my children, my husband, my mother, my father-in-law; All I wanted was more money and more sleep.”

I could deeply relate. As someone who juggles work, motherhood, and household responsibilities, that feeling of being overwhelmed is so real. It’s not that I’m unhappy — I am happy with my life — but sometimes it just feels like no one really sees how hard you're trying. That line reminded me of how often I’ve forgotten to express gratitude to my own mother, who probably felt the same way once.
But the book was packaged in a super boring way. The way the stories unfolded just wasn’t my favorite.The pacing and tone didn’t hold my interest, even though I appreciated the messages behind them.
Please, read another dazzling review before deciding , this book just wasn’t for me.

Note : Thank you, HarperVia, for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Sam Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good grief—what a joy to read. Yamamoto’s five character-driven novellas contain day-in-the-life plots that see and make you feel seen. Naked, her opening number on finding a job, was a balm for my hard weekend (as it relates to employment).

In this collection, the author’s strength, perhaps brought out by Bergstrom, is her ability to effectively portray the varying dilemmas of her narrators, thereby causing readers to sympathize with them. The ideas in the story—unemployment, physical health, motherhood, marriage, divorce—may be familiar, mundane even. But Yamamoto placed me in the protagonists’ lives: by patiently contemplating the common, she caused me to intentionally reflect on their circumstances with a level of care I didn’t expect would arise. I sensed myself extending more charity to the characters; by this token, Yamamoto humanized real-life folks for me.

I rate The Dilemmas of Working Women 4.5 stars.

[Yaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

My curiosity sometimes gets the best of me, and I often begin a book anticipating a specific outcome. Few things are more satisfying than discovering how wrong those expectations can be. In this case, being wrong became the most rewarding part of the reading experience. While I initially hoped to gain insight into how the lives of women in Japan differ from my own, I instead found how much we share. The subtle distinctions felt shaped more by place and circumstance than by any fundamental divide.

The book invites readers into a collection of short stories, each one distinct, engaging, and thoughtfully crafted. It is easy to connect with at least one of them, but for me, the impact went beyond simple recognition. These are stories that stay with you, prompting reflection and curiosity long after they end, and even leaving you wondering where these characters might be today.

I absolutely recommend this book to readers who enjoy reflective, character driven storytelling.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Short Stories Women's Fiction. I read this book by listening to the audiobook, and I liked the narrator. I really did not enjoy this book because I felt it was boring. There was nothing in this book that totally pulled me into the story. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this collection of short stories which all focus on (not surprisingly) the dilemmas of the working woman in Japan.

All the stories have something to recommend them dealing with various aspects of a woman's life - Izumi in Naked who, having divorced, finds herself unable to motivate herself to go back to any meaningful employment; Haruka in Planarian who has had breast cancer but, despite being clear, continues to use it as a reason not to stick at any work to Sumie in A Tomorrow Full of Love, who lives a precarious lifestyle moving where she likes, with whom she likes and doing whatever job suits her at the time.

The thing I liked about all the women is that they were all so unapologetic to the men/parents in their lives. They wanted to live their way and they did.

Definitely a very interesting look at modern women in the workplace. I would recommend this collection.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Brown Book Group for the advance review copy.

[Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this collection liberated women from the social box they are supposed to fit into (you know, polite, supportive, empathetic, efficient, and caring). The writing is sharp, witty, dark and funny at times. Fumio Yamamoto’s working women are unhinged, angry, lost at times, and completely unpredictable.

First published in Japan in 2000, The Dilemma of Working Women was a best seller, winning the prestigious Naoki Prize. It sold almost half a million copies. In 2025, at a time when women’s rights are under attack worldwide, the book is published as a modern classic: feminist, anti-capitalist, and relevant. Yamamoto wrote these as Japan polled near the bottom for gender parity and economic equality, and now the whole world is ready to fall back in time. But let’s see what happens when women decide to say no and not conform.

The collection comprises 5 stories, and each one features women who refuse to behave. They are completely irrational, and at times, perhaps a bit self-destructive. And here I am, in my 40s, saying, ‘You know what, this makes so much damn sense. ’ These women aren’t polished or polite, they’re angry, restless and depressed. They perform society’s requests - stay silent, go back to work, accept the grind - and then they say ‘F this’ and reject it all. With them saying no, the expectations change, and there’s a freedom in that (alongside the judgment and the scolding). There is freedom in getting off the hamster wheel and doing whatever the hell you want.

Stories

Naked: Izumi loses her business and husband, but the divorce gives her a comfortable sum of money. However, it takes away all her joy. She had built the company and was the backbone of its success. A former ambitious career woman, she retreats to sewing stuffed animals and living a life free of responsibilities. She should get back to work, but she has no drive to. She finds it easy to just be, rather than being successful and driven. The ending is not what you would expect. Themes: grief and identity loss coming with divorce; culture that ties self-worth with productivity, success, and domesticity.

Planarian: Haruka, recovering from breast cancer, tells friends she’d rather be a planarian, a worm that regrows when severed, because rebuilding herself feels less terrifying than facing love, illness, and expectation. Her boyfriend pressures her to stop talking about cancer because it brings down the mood, especially when they are out with friends. He sees cancer, something she had, and it’s gone (even if she has to undergo monthly painful treatments still). She has to decide whether to admit that cancer is part of her life and identity or let the man go. Themes: bodily autonomy in the face of cancer; the desire to regenerate suggests women’s precariousness within medical and romantic expectations.

Here, Which Is Nowhere: Katō works nights in a supermarket after her husband is “restructured.” She juggles part‑time work and motherhood, torn between survival and selfhood. Despite her working nights, she still prepares breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her husband and her two grown kids. Who, of course, don’t appreciate it and see it as a doormat meant to serve them. Until she decides it’s enough. Themes: economic collapse and structural inequality; women navigating unstable labour markets, losing partners to corporate cuts; women bearing the weight of economic decline and motherhood.

The Dilemmas of Working Women: Mito, an ambitious young woman working for a major communications company, is being proposed to by her boyfriend of seven years. Not only is she not excited about it, but she downright hates the idea of being married to him. Partially, it’s because he is a PhD student living off his parents’ money and expects her to be a traditional wife. Partly, it is because she no longer feels much for him. Plus, she’s having an affair with a colleague. When everything blows up in her face - the affair is found out at work, her future mother-in-law comes to pressure her into marriage, her abusive father wants her to make a decision - she needs to make up her mind. What would she do? Themes: marriage as economic escape; independence versus societal pressure to bond with an underemployed partner.

A Tomorrow Full of Love: Majima, a restaurateur, is obsessed with Sumie, a rebellious young woman who reads palms. Sumie is much younger and also homeless. She starts living with him, but comes and goes as she pleases. Majima wants her to behave in a more… normal way. For them to have a real relationship, commitment. But what he really wants is to possess her. To quiet her down, to make her mine, to have her where he wants her to be and who he wants her to be. Yet, Sumie is just not that kind of girl. Themes: misogyny through the male gaze; women’s emotional labour misunderstood or romanticised by men in traditional small businesses.

I have to stop here, because this collection made me want to quit my job and live in the forest like a witch (I will one day). Read it if you like unruly women, who do whatever they want and say NO a lot. Loved it to bits.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

jeden z lepszych zbiorów opowiadań, jakie czytałam ostatnio!! I mean dysocjujące bohaterki, które nie zgadzają się grać według reguł kapitalizmu? Purrr

[Charlie - disableddaydreamer | itsbarbieparis (looking for mutuals) · Rating 5 out of 5]

while this book isn’t “new” persay, thank you so much to netgalley, harpervia and fumio yamamoto for this english translation ARC.

what a treat. i thoroughly enjoyed the ride that this book was, the mess and the honestly. it’s impressive that a book written over 20 years ago can still be so relevant today.

i think i am learning my favorite book genre and its whatever this is serving- reality, some feminine bite and a slice of a real imperfect life.

[Canino Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una serie di racconti, omogenei e scorrevoli, che raccontano da diverse prospettive i dilemmi delle persone (e non solo delle donne) che non si conformano ai canoni della società.

Estremamente attuale e acuto, piacerà ai lettori di Murata Sayaka.

4,5

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full RTC!

Thank you bunches to HarperVia for the #gifted ARC, I can't wait to see the full cover IRL

[Jim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This absorbing and diverse collection of five unconnected stories about the plight of working women in Japan is an award-winning work first published in that country 25 years ago and translated into English only now.

The late author, Fumio Yamamoto, was born in 1962 and tragically died of pancreatic cancer in 2021 at the age of just 58. In this work, which earned her the prestigious Naoki prize and which proved highly popular in her native country, Yamamoto vividly captures the effects on society and individuals of Japan’s long slump after the popping of the so-called ‘bubble’ economy in the late 1980s. It’s my contention that those observations are globally relevant today.

Each story, bar the last, is narrated by a woman protagonist. And each, in its own drily witty style, exposes the tectonic impacts of what happens when economic dislocation intersects with the rigid and culturally ingrained expectations of gender roles - around love, marriage, career, work, money, sex, motherhood, and aging.

In the first story, ‘Naked’, Izumi’s life collapses when her husband at once dissolves their marriage and business partnership, one in which Izumi was the prime creator. But instead of starting something new, Izumi rejects the social pressure to ‘succeed’ in conventional terms and spends her time idly at home making stuffed toys and having an affair with a younger man who was once her subordinate.

In ‘Planarian’, Haruka’s friends expect her to act ‘normal’. and return to work immediately after breast cancer treatment, ignoring her internal transformation. The title refers to Haruka’s envy of the planarian worm, a creature that is able to evolve and regenerate itself, even after it has been torn apart.

In ‘Here, Which is Nowhere’, 40-something Kato is reduced to working crushing 10pm-2am night-shifts at a convenience store - and fighting off a sexual molester - when her husband’s former high-paid salaryman role is ‘reconstructed’. Yet she is still expected to do all the domestic work with no sleep, parent her two demanding near-adult children, all the while waiting on her husband hand a foot. Ultimately, she puts her own foot down.

In the title story, 20-something Mito is caught between a physically bullying father and a psychologically manipulative, emotionally stunted boyfriend seeking to push her into a marriage she feels ambivalent about. It takes her some courage to finally declare what SHE wants.

But it was the final story which moved me most. In ‘A Tomorrow Full of Love’, and the only story narrated by a male character, 36-year-old divorced, strait-laced bar-owner Majima finds himself falling for unconventional and homeless wastrel Sumie, who lives on her wits and her talent for palm-reading. While Majima is initially appalled at Sumie’s disregard for conventional morality, it is her innate street wisdom that ultimately forces him to let go of his culturally ingrained expectations about love, work, success and community.

In each story, Yamamoto exposes the complexities and contradictions of life’s big decisions and the often under-estimated degree to which our fortunes as individuals are shaped by bigger economic, social and cultural forces of which we may not be directly aware.

The message that emerged for me is that there rarely is a perfect answer to any life dilemma. Conformity and self-adherence to cultural and gendered dictates come at a cost, but so do freedom and rebellion against social mores. At the same time, Yamamoto seems to be saying through these characters that those who are able to bend rather than break in response to outside pressures and to juggle the tensions between conformity and freedom are mostly likely to ‘succeed’ - in the sense of being wholly themselves.

I can see why this fine, nuanced message hit such a chord with Japanese readers. For anyone who has been there for more than a brief holiday, Japan is clearly a heavily constricted society in which people are raised from an early age to be mindful of the welfare of the group and to put collective responsibilities ahead of personal desire. Overlaid with this are strict gendered roles in which men must do all the heavy lifting in terms of paid work and women are destined to rule household and family.

But, as we now know, decades of recession/depression, economic restructuring and the global march of dual-income neoliberalism have gradually eaten away at the social fabric and elevated extreme individualism over group responsibility to the extent that even ostensibly impenetrable traditions have dissolved or at least been weakened.

This is why I think the belated translation of this book into English is so timely. While these dislocations really hit home in Japan in the 1990s, the individual impacts of the dismantling of social obligations and institutions have been felt throughout the industrialised world since Yamamoto wrote this book. Indeed, ‘The Dilemmas of Working Women’ feels like a time capsule - warning us to exercise our remaining discretion if we are to find a way through a post neo-liberal world.

My reading of the book is that each of Yamamoto’s heroines (and hero) eventually takes charge in her/his own way - finding an ultimately successful, if winding, path between the demands of economic and cultural realities and their need for independent self-expression. In the final story, it is the woman, Sumire, who is ahead of the curve on social change, showing the hidebound Majima how to find joy amid chaos and endemic uncertainty.

To me that feels like a message about the power of human ingenuity amid dissociative change, and our innate ability as a species to forge new forms of community and connection even when it seems the rest of the world is falling apart.

Twenty five years after its Japanese publication, this English edition of ‘The Dilemmas of Working Women’ reads to me like a message to the rest of us to maintain hope in a wider world in which the social glue is coming apart.

[Bella Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

By laying out 5 different stories of women's contemplation & dilemmas in their life (albeit one story is from the male's narrative), Dilemmas of Working Women showcased the precariousness of expectations of how women should act & be in contemporary Japan. While I found the book as a whole interesting, the stories & pacing can be dull for some as there are mostly narrated in slice of life moments through these women's lenses with focus on characters & their thoughts. Fumio Yamamoto's writing sparked an anti-capitalist & feminist notion in the time of recession & anxiety about employment. Her dark, humorous approach to her stories gave each of the characters a very relatable, humane vitality that can be both sad & frustrating since they are flawed people.

In Naked, a divorced woman found herself unable to resume working normally as she quitted her jobs & prefer to idle around sewing toys. Planarian talked about a woman who survived Breast cancer but deemed herself unfit for society after the removal of her breast & her unwillingness to find job. Here, which is nowhere showed of a mother juggling between motherhood & part time work at a mart after her husband's restructuring. Dilemmas of working women focused on the narrator's dilemma of her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, discussing on Prisoner Dilemmas term that arised between them. A tomorrow full of love, narrated by a male, Majima, as he needs to embraced the life he is in now while trying to understand Sumie, a self destructive woman that refuse to follow the rigidity of love. The storied in here talked about various themes on employment, working situation, motherhood, misogyny, love & relationships with acute familiarity that you are bound to love or hate

Amongst these, my favourite is Here, which is nowhere on the mother story as she had to be the homemaker, taking care of the needs of her husband & children who are the most unappreciative people ever, taking her for granted while she still prepares food for them & working part time after hours to feed the family. The complexity of motherhood, the struggles of being a middle aged worker, it all came down to a very frustrating ambigous ending. Planarian is another fav as our narrator doesnt move on from her breast cancer disorder as she dreamed to be a being that regenerates or multiply even after the body was severed, alluding to her removal of breast & the pain she had. Finding a job after such hard times can proven to affect your identity & wanting to break free can be hard.

Thank you to Times Reads for the review copy for an exchange for an honest review

[hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 tales including the title story and it intrigued me on how the other 4 premises could captured an exact fit to that ‘The Dilemmas Of Working Women’ lore as well. Neat prose with sly addictive humor and interesting dynamics, all having a heroine narrator (except for the last story which narrated through a man’s POV) drowning in dilemma be it in ambition, relationships, financial pressures and societal expectations set in an ordinary slice-of-life setting, so meticulously observed especially on the emotional tensions and depiction of how complex a woman’s life could be.

Bit twisty with inviting full of flaws and rebellious women characters that get lured into the stressful survival and a self-destructive drama. Thrown in relationship mess, career pressure, friendship conflicts, familial madness, of heartbreaks and love scandals, as well how one’s get judge for just refusing to go along with the norms. It enthralled me too to see how the execution go relatable with present-day anxieties despite being first published 20+ years ago and was culturally nuanced to reflect the modern Japanese women during that era.

Loved the characterization for Planarian and The Dilemmas Of Working Women as well its drama-ish, melancholic, intense relationship/love related storytellings. Planarian especially piqued my sympathy for its engrossing self-fragility theme of a woman who is still struggling to let go her cancer related history. Here, Which Is Nowhere centered on a mother’s POV about her familial and workplace stress while Naked absorbed me in its disassociation and unsettling jobless by choice narrative. I liked how A Tomorrow Full Of Love being so punchy and explored its woman’s insight from a man’s perspective; my top fav among all.

Nothing too happy ending in these stories, bit ambiguous yet catered that bittersweet of life-still-goes-on at the end. An enticing and powerful collection overall. Add to fav!

(Thank you Times Reads for the gifted review copy!)

[mela✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5

Raccolta di racconti che si propone di riflettere sul ruolo delle donne nella società giapponese, concentrandosi su personaggi femminili che non si conformano agli schemi imposti dalla società.
Purtroppo ho trovato i racconti un po' fiacchi e a volte inconcludenti; anche la scrittura è molto basica, senza particolari guizzi.
Mi ha lasciato poco.

[Rendezvouswithbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

#japanesetranslation

5 women - Izumi, Haruka, Katō, Mito & Sumie offer us a chance to find ourselves in their stories

1) Naked
"Since my teens, I’d always been striving to get ahead, to climb higher and higher, and this desire was real. I’d wanted to win. Just win, no matter what. But win at what?"

Izumi perfectly reflects the struggles of middle aged women. The need to find the real self once again after losing so much of earlier self is so challenging

2) Planarian
"Everything seemed like too much bother. Just being alive seemed like too much bother, but it also seemed like too much bother to die"

Haruka is recovering from breast cancer but is it possible to be what you were when you have lost a part of you

3) Here, Which Is Nowhere
"I had a million things I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t decide where to start; I also knew that a volley of questions would only put her in a foul mood..All I could think was Whatever, it’s fine, I’d rather get some sleep than deal with this. Which might well make me a failure as a mother."

This fav story vividly reminds me of Caspedes's Forbidden Notebook. Like Valeria, Katō everyday makes this futile attempt to be a perfect wife, mother & daughter. But the questions remain, why are we always putting ourselves at that pedestal

4) The Dilemmas of Working Women
"It was true that we’d spent our days together for years under the unspoken assumption we’d one day marry. But there was more to my resistance..He’d taken it upon himself to give a name to the uneasiness..Dilemma. I repeated the word inwardly, deep in my chest"

Mito's dilemmas are so real. Should she succumb to societal pressures of marriage or work towards her career

5) A Tomorrow Full of Love
"My place was somewhere you could go to be among people you had no connections or obligations to, where you could have a nice conversation or keep to yourself, a place to have a drink and disappear for a while. My ideal watering hole."

Divorced Majima is again looking for a stable life. But is it possible in the company of young nomadic Sumie

Stories written in 20th century, but deeply resonate even today. Translation by Bergstrom is brilliant as well as her note

READ IT


Translator's Note

The Dilemmas of Working Women—originally titled Planarian, after the novella that came first in the Japanese edition of the collection— was more than a book that won a big prize; it was a phenomenon..Much of her work was still marketed as “romance,” but her deep knowledge of the genre’s conventions led her to play with and subvert them. She became known for her “difficult” heroines and her ambiguous endings..the stories in Dilemmas are studded with contemporary references and allusions—the specter of corporate “restructuring,”....her writing achieves the timelessness necessary to speak to us beyond the time and place of its initial creation and reach us where we live, right here and right now."

[Arkasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dilemmas of Working Women consisted of five stories written by Fumio Yamamoto, originally published in 2000 but first translated to English in 2025: Naked, Planarian, Here Which is Nowhere, The Dilemmas of Working Women, and A Tomorrow Full of Love. All of them offered slightly off-kilter point-of-views of life, kind of from-the-outside-looking-in but not really: the characters had been "normal" (or "lived normally") once but not anymore. I really liked that immediately into each story you just get the characters' archetype, like, you know these types of people in real life. The first story was my favorite (absolutely obsessed with the winner-loser dichotomy in this one), the second and third stories were very well-written but upsetting, the fourth story left me a bit confused, and the fifth story was ok. I also liked how each of the story ended, the author got such a way of cutting the narrative to a close. The title of the book is slightly misleading because it was just the title of one of the stories, and not all of the stories focused on employment although all of them do relate to work or a job.

eARC provided by NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK.

[Cherise · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I could relate to a lot of the themes, the women in these stories mostly made me feel exasperated and sad. In some cases the women were struggling with being under the thumb of societal expectations for women, but a lot of the time it seemed like the characters' own passivity was the bigger problem. If we were friends I'd have some choice words for them about getting out of their own way and expecting better of the people around them. Maybe it's because I'm not from the same cultural milieu, but this just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Ben Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing I love about novels and short stories like these by Japanese authors is that they convey social anxieties and the work/life balance so openly and blatantly that it leaves soooo much room for your own thoughts and feelings. Books like this and Convenience Store Woman are gifts because of the gaps they leave for you to fill.

[Afi (WhatAfiReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I found that I was neither particularly happy nor particularly sad. Just vacant, a white blank."

If you ever had the chance to pick up this book and wanted to go in blind, I would highly suggest going in with the mindset of - no, these are not collectively about working women but more so on what the society intends and views women to be . The characters in here are unlikeable and may not conform to society's norms. They are women that are called weird, peculiar, and some might call them selfish. And, for those looking for happy endings , spoiler alert, you won't get them in here. These are a collection that is made for you to be uncomfortable, to question whether the rights of women's choices are up to what society expects them to be. The collection of 5 short stories in here will make you feel that none of these women are special. In fact, why are they even in a story.

But its what makes them, at the end of the day, human.

The trick to reading this book is getting a breather after each stories, and not reading it directly in one seating. You'll find the stories dull if you read it in one seating (might be the way its told?) but, my advice is to take a break after each stories. Only then, you'll be only to enjoy it fully.

I liked that this book provided a mix of stories of different women in different settings.
In Naked which I gave 3.5🌟, is the dilemma of a woman has worked for her life and didn't want to continue working anymore to conform to what society expects of her.
In Planarian which was my personal fav, with 4.5🌟, is of the dilemma of a woman who felt that she's not fit to live in society any longer, especially after having going through a huge trauma in her life.
In Here, Which is Nowhere which I gave 4🌟 is also amongst my favs as well where it talks about the dilemmas of a working mother that has to support her family and the complex dynamics of a family that is struggling to meet ends meet.
In The Dilemmas of a Working Women which I gave 3.75🌟, it gives the perspectives of a woman with her lover which is stuck in a Prison Dilemma situation, where neither of them wants to come out from their comfort zone. And lowkey, if the roles are reversed for the female character, everyone would definitely be just accepting the "way" of a man is at is.
And finally in A Tomorrow Full of Love which I gave 3.5🌟 is the sole story where the narrator is from the perspective of a man and I find that this story to be quite interesting because from his narration, there is nothing normal about this woman and everything seemed a bit 'perversed' from his point of view and in some ways getting the pov from a man makes ties up the whole collection quite nicely.

If there's one thing I can comment about the book is that none of the characters in here are that likeable and that all of the stories in here does not have an ending. In fact, I was a bit curious why the author chose to end the first story the way it was and it was consistent throughout the five stories. It came to me that, the ending that the author wrote were mostly open ended and almost... unfinished comes in parallel with life itself - where nothing is certain and that at the end, there are thing that will not be expected to have a solid happy ending.

Out of all, I do relate most to the character in Planarian. She might come off as stand-off-ish, but I emphatized with her pain, and the views of society of a disease that can only be incurred by woman. The body dysmorphia that the character experienced and the trauma that can only be experienced if you have a deathly sickness that affects parts of your body forever.

"No diagnosis, no matter how dire, could free me from the prison of group life."

All in all, this is a collection that might not be for everyone, but I somewhat dig it. It showed the realities of women in different forms, in ways that might not be agreeable to all, but can be seen as almost... human to some.

And at the end, a person should be able to conform to their own thoughts and not from the pressure from the people around them; which is only being questioned because that person is born as a woman.

Thank you Pansing for this gifted copy! I give this short story collection a 4🌟 overall :)

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the theme that connected each tale in this collection of novellas: how can a woman navigate the male-dominated world of employment in contemporary Japan? These characters are burnt-out, sexually harassed by coworkers, reliant on husbands or boyfriends, and struggling to maintain a work-life balance. It's an important topic, and I think sexism in the modern workplace is something that is frequently ignored today because of how far we've come.

However, I wasn't invested in any of the dilemmas of the working (or unemployed) women in this book. They were hard to like or sympathise with, and their selfishness seemed downright shocking at times. At the same time, they never moved beyond two-dimensional. Since each novella was character-driven, the narrative arcs felt empty considering the characters themselves were empty. None of the stories were particularly resonant or memorable.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling collection of stories that have maintained their relevancy despite being written over twenty five years ago. The women in these stories often subvert expectations, refusing to get in line and become a nameless cog in the capitalist machine. They look for ways to prolong their unemployment, fibbing about the severity of a now resolved illness or just simply laying low to avoid prying questions about their joblessness. Despite "sticking it to the man", having to deal with outside opinions on how they "should" be living their life weigh on them, preventing any feeling of true freedom. On the other end of the spectrum are the women in these stories who do work, part-time or full-time, but are still weighed down by their lot in life.

I think what I loved most about these women is their imperfection, they're victims of a capitalist and patriarchal society, yes, but they're not faultless. They're real and relatable, they put off having tough conversations and then end up in much tougher situations because of their avoidance. The external pressures they face are real, but the first person narration in almost every story allows the reader a front row view of the ways they get in their own way. Yamamoto's genius makes it so that even when we don't like these women, we understand them.

I loved the translator's note at the end as it gave insight into Yamamoto's career, her start with writing formulaic romance novels and then the slow transition to writing stories with female characters more complex, even unlikeable. This was a really great read, translated brilliantly by Bergstrom.

[i · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley for giving me the chance to access the ARC!

It is undoubtedly a book about mundanity and might come across as dull if you’re not fond of this type of story. However, I genuinely enjoyed it. It provides a sense of comfort amidst life’s bleakness, showing that you can connect with someone—even a fictional character—experiencing the monotony. While some parts feel heavy and depressing, the book remains engaging and enjoyable overall.

[Sanja_Sanjalica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful storytelling and weird stories. Just my cup of tea.

[Steph | bookedinsaigon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

THE DILEMMAS OF WORKING WOMEN is for readers who like atmospheric books that aim to capture the general vibe of a period of time—in this case, the anxieties of a post-recession 1990s Japan. Yamamoto’s stories do not critique issues with Japanese society, which, if you’re like me, can be frustrating. I also felt largely emotionally disconnected from the characters, so readers who need that kind of investment in their books should keep that in mind before going into this short story collection.

Bergstrom’s English translation is easy to read and follow, despite the at times scattered nature of the stories themselves. In the five stories of DILEMMAS, characters meander through mostly self-manufactured mini-crises regarding relationships, identity, gender roles, work, etc.

I say “self-manufactured” because a lot of the characters are very passive and stay in shitty situations because of their own choices or lack of action. For instance, I struggled to sympathize with the MC of the titular story, “The Dilemmas of Working Women,” who cannot bring herself to reject her student boyfriend’s marriage proposal, even though she doesn’t feel any sort of satisfaction in their relationships.

These stories are kind of scattered, meandering, and thematically lacking because very little actually happens, while larger social forces flit in and out of the picture without really being commented on. In “Here, Which is Nowhere,” for instance, the married, middle-aged mother takes on a strenuous part-time job because her husband’s job has been restructured, while struggling to keep house for a passive husband and ungrateful children. Yamamoto’s characters are acted upon by social issues like gender roles, toxic working conditions, and relationship expectations, but neither she nor any of her characters meaningfully address or comment on any of them. It can frustrate a reader like me, who really wants to look for thought-provoking themes in her readers.

Ultimately, though, I guess that’s the point. We can say that Yamamoto successfully captured the daily struggles and minutiae of turn-of-the-century Japanese adults. Unfortunately, her stories and characters failed to provide the emotional and thematic impact I need to make DILEMMAS a memorable read for me.

[Queralt✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dilemmas of Working Women is a collection of short stories about women in modern Japan or, as the translator puts it, gender social anxiety in Japan. It addresses social issues faced by women in the country, with an emphasis on peer pressure and capitalism. I’m not typically a short story reader but I enjoyed this collection.

In “Naked,” a recently divorced woman who has been unemployed for two years is ostracised by her only friend because she’s comfortable not looking for a job. She spends her time sewing stuffed animals and quickly realizes hobbies are fun because you don’t make them a job. At some point, she’s offered a job, and her reality is upended. 4 stars.

“Planaria” follows an overweight woman who survived cancer and had to have her breast removed. She blames everyone for everything (her weight, her cancer, her pain, how miserable she is at the hospital). She makes it her personality to go around telling everyone that in her next life she wants to be a type of slug called planaria that can regenerate. At some point, she has a well-deserved reality check. The MC was so annoying, but it was an interesting read. 3.5 stars.

“Here Which Is Nowhere” is about a woman invisible to her family but busy at work. This story is about the invisible responsibilities women have and the double burden as a carer (of her husband, children, in-laws, her family, the house) and economic, but her own self is ignored by everyone. Didn’t love it. 2 stars.

In “The Dilemmas of Working Women,” a young woman is dating some sort of dumbass with a massive ego and commitment issues. She wants to break up, but she feels pressure to be married, and him being a sleazy idiot doesn’t help. Eventually, she starts noticing he’s making steps towards marriage and has to make a decision. This was a frustrating read, the dude was infuriating. 4 stars.

In “A Tomorrow Full of Love,” the divorced manager of a chain adds a fortune teller special menu for when a woman named Sumie comes. She lives a precarious life telling people’s fortunes and going out with men because she’s down on her luck in a country where men have money and women are often treated as part-time commodities. Really enjoyed this one, despite it being a hard read at times, mostly because the manager had a savior personality and was just weird (as in, he got confused and thought Sumie was “his” because he offered kindness and got sex as payment). 4 stars.

*ARC received for free, this hasn’t impacted my review.

[Somood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of five different short stories where they explore what it means to be a modern woman in Japan, focusing on the tension between career ambitions and societal expectations. There’s constant pressure to succeed professionally while also living up to traditional roles at home; balancing success, relationships, and identity.

What’s interesting is that although the story often feels bleak, it’s deeply emotional. It highlights the quiet resilience of all the female characters. Their struggles are raw and real not dramatic.

It’s not giving a “girlboss” kind of vibe. It’s sad, validating, and honest.

In one of the stories titled Planarian our protagonist can’t let go of her illness which she recovered from, It becomes her entire personality. And another story titled Naked, talks about a freshly divorced and unemployed woman, facing a quiet battle against gender roles and double standards.

These stories made me realize how many women suffer in silence, often under the pressure of meeting society’s expectations. This collection of stories does not try to glamorize anything. It just tells the truth quietly.

[Lizeth A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ 4/5 stars ✨
These stories are so quietly heartbreaking and weird in the best way.
Women unraveling, resisting, survivinit’s all here.

My faves? “Naked” (ugh, perfect) and “Here, Which Is Nowhere” (😩).

Big thanks to @harpervia for the ARC! Also, I want to thank Gretchen (the marketing manager) for sending this over to me 🖤

full review will be posted soon!

[Tanaya Pandey (kitabiyatri) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

Surprised me with what it had to offer specially after that book title. It turned out to be everything I didn’t expect it to. Refreshingly good and welcome change from all the feel good or the lonely-isolated-socially outcast individual type stories that get repeatedly published and are kind of like the stereotype expectation now of contemporary Jlit. In translation.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek is zowel deprimerend als verfrissend.

[Ashley]

RTC!