A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it’s close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing, and, ideally, very little thinking. Her first gig—watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods—turns out to be inconvenient. (When can she go to the bathroom?) Her next gives way to the supernatural: announcing advertisements for shops that mysteriously disappear. As she moves from job to job—writing trivia for rice cracker packages and punching entry tickets to a purportedly haunted public park—it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all but something altogether more meaningful. But when she finally discovers an alternative to the daily grind, it comes with a price. This is the first time work by Kikuko Tsumura—winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award—has been translated into English. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is as witty as it is unsettling—a jolting look at the maladies of late capitalist life through the unique and fascinating lens of modern Japanese culture.
© 2021 Dreamscape Media (Audiobook): 9781666546132
Translators: Polly Barton
Release date
Audiobook: 15 April 2021
A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it’s close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing, and, ideally, very little thinking. Her first gig—watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods—turns out to be inconvenient. (When can she go to the bathroom?) Her next gives way to the supernatural: announcing advertisements for shops that mysteriously disappear. As she moves from job to job—writing trivia for rice cracker packages and punching entry tickets to a purportedly haunted public park—it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all but something altogether more meaningful. But when she finally discovers an alternative to the daily grind, it comes with a price. This is the first time work by Kikuko Tsumura—winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award—has been translated into English. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is as witty as it is unsettling—a jolting look at the maladies of late capitalist life through the unique and fascinating lens of modern Japanese culture.
© 2021 Dreamscape Media (Audiobook): 9781666546132
Translators: Polly Barton
Release date
Audiobook: 15 April 2021
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Overall rating based on 232 ratings
Cozy
Thought-provoking
Heartwarming
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Siddhi
10 Nov 2021
Loved it. Zapped through it.
Mujtaba Hussain
1 Jan 2024
What a charming book! Tsumura elevates the ordinary, showing how passion can transform even the most tedious tasks into meaningful experiences. Her gentle prose and insightful observations make this a delightful read, reminding me of the breadth and diversity of Japanese literature. After masterpieces like Murakami and Ishiguro, 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' and now this gem, I'm eager to keep exploring what this incredible literary scene has to offer.
English
India