The Dilemmas of Working Women
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The Dilemmas of Working Women
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See moreThe darkly funny, relatable and tender book about five women in modern Japan - with nearly half a million copies sold in Japan
Fumio Yamamoto is one of my greatest inspirations – Asako Yuzuki, author of Butter
Witty, wise and thought-provoking – Cecelia Ahern
Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence – Lisa Owens, author of Not Working
So brilliantly written – Roxy Dunn, author of As Young as This
[Will] rattle your heart and brain – Dakota Johnson
Izumi needs to get a job.
Haruka needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer.
Kato 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.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349019239
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 June 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Contributors:
- Translated by Brian Bergstrom
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 28.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 229g
Pages: 288
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About the Author
Fumio Yamamoto burst onto the Japanese literary scene in 1999 when she won the Yoshikawa Eiji New Writer's Prize for her book Loveaholic. Her follow-up in 2000, The Dilemmas of Working Women, won the prestigious Naoki Prize in Literature, before becoming a bestselling phenomenon. Her final novel, Rotations and Revolutions, was awarded both the Shimasei Literature Prize and the Chuo Koron Prize in 2021, and her journals, offering an intimate portrait of dealing with depression and then with pancreatic cancer, also became hugely popular. Yamamoto passed away in 2021 in Karuizawa, Nagano.
Brian Bergstrom is a lecturer and translator who has lived in Chicago, Kyoto, and Yokohama, and is currently based in Montreal. His most recent translations include Sunrise: Radiant Stories by award-winning author Erika Kobayashi and Slow Down by Marxist philosopher Kohei Saito.Also by Fumio Yamamoto
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