[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"work-reviews-detail-diary-of-a-void-qfw2":3,"work-reviews-list-diary-of-a-void-qfw2":124},{"id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"original_title":7,"description":8,"first_publish_year":9,"original_language":10,"primary_cover_url":11,"cover_3d_url":12,"cover_blurhash":13,"preferred_edition_id":7,"community_rating_avg":14,"community_rating_count":15,"page_count":16,"estimated_reading_minutes":17,"shelves_added_this_week":18,"enrichment_status":19,"community_depth_avg":7,"community_momentum_avg":7,"community_atmosphere_avg":7,"community_craft_avg":7,"community_impact_avg":7,"community_spice_avg":7,"is_non_fiction":20,"is_romance":20,"is_indexable":21,"rating_distribution":22,"authors":24,"genres":41,"characters":54,"places":60,"subjects":64,"series":73,"editions":74,"enrichment":103,"community_distribution":7,"default_edition":118,"faqs":122,"reviews_count":15,"contributions_count":18,"quotes_count":18,"photos_count":18,"created_at":123},"01knsz6xy07nkcmtq8ssacskzc","diary-of-a-void-qfw2","Diary of a Void",null,"Ms. Shibata is the only woman in her section at a Tokyo company that makes cardboard cores, which means she is also, unofficially, the one expected to make the coffee, wash the cups, and tidy up after everyone else. One morning, tired of it, she blurts out an excuse that changes everything: she can't clear away the dirty cups because the smell makes her nauseous — because she's pregnant.\n\nShe isn't. But the lie works instantly. Her colleagues soften, her workload lightens, and for the first time she can leave the office on time. Now she has nine months of ruse to maintain, complete with a pregnancy-tracking app, padded clothing, prenatal aerobics classes, and a growing circle of new friends who believe every word. As the performance deepens, the line between the life Shibata is inventing and the one she's actually living begins to blur.\n\nWinner of Japan's Dazai Osamu Prize, Emi Yagi's sharp, deadpan debut is a feminist satire about overwork, loneliness, and the quiet absurdities women are asked to absorb — and what happens when one of them decides to opt out.",2020,"ja","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Feditions\u002F01\u002F01knsz6y0qftj5wm16ww346e4k.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Fworks-3d\u002F01\u002F01knsz6xy07nkcmtq8ssacskzc.png?v=67249e449d","LKH_oXt,00VX~WNaE1Z$00oz_3R5","4.00",3,213,242,0,"pending",false,true,[18,18,18,18,18,23,18,23,18,23],1,[25,31,36],{"id":26,"slug":27,"name":28,"role":29,"bio":30},"01knsz6xzx6f3h8vt1g6wnzv2a","emi-yagi-3r4s","Emi Yagi","author","Emi Yagi is the author of the novels Diary of a Void and When the Museum Is Closed. Her fiction often blends everyday life with a touch of the unexpected.",{"id":32,"slug":33,"name":34,"role":29,"bio":35},"01knsz6xzzkd9xmp8h211xsvxp","lucy-north-60td","Lucy North","Lucy North is the author of literary works like *Diary of a Void* and *Asa*. She also penned the useful *Dictionary of Japanese Collocations*, highlighting her varied writing interests.",{"id":37,"slug":38,"name":39,"role":29,"bio":40},"01kkc792vs5e2awe0p7ytz8fym","david-boyd-fexy","David Boyd","David Boyd is the author of Heaven, a book that looks at faith and the human condition. His writing often prompts readers to think deeply about life's big questions.",[42,46,50],{"id":43,"name":44,"slug":45,"is_fiction":21},9,"Literary Fiction","literary-fiction",{"id":47,"name":48,"slug":49,"is_fiction":21},59,"Contemporary Literature","contemporary-literature",{"id":51,"name":52,"slug":53,"is_fiction":21},118,"Satire","satire",[55],{"id":56,"name":57,"description":58,"role":59,"is_spoiler":20},"01knsz6y1c9fyr00mzd353q3vp","Ms. Shibata","A lonely office worker who invents a pregnancy to escape her workplace's gendered expectations, then must maintain the lie.","protagonist",[61],{"id":62,"name":63,"description":7,"is_fictional":20,"real_world_location":7},"01kk47b5gc83yd9qy20hgeer9z","Tokyo",[65,69],{"id":66,"name":67,"type":68},"01kjq78ya7ggtcyyh8f5t7df1w","Japanese literature","subject",{"id":70,"name":71,"type":72},"01kjr36369a4vvr2p5sbzkkvdt","Tokyo (Japan)","place",[],[75,84,91,97,100],{"id":76,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":77,"format_label":78,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":79,"cover_url":11,"cover_blurhash":13,"isbn_13":80,"asin":7,"publisher":81,"language":82,"quality_score":43,"submission_status":83},"01knsz6y0qftj5wm16ww346e4k","unknown","Unknown","2023","9781529114812","Penguin Random House","en","approved",{"id":85,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":86,"format_label":87,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":88,"cover_url":89,"cover_blurhash":7,"isbn_13":90,"asin":7,"publisher":81,"language":82,"quality_score":43,"submission_status":83},"01knsz6y03myge3etdtcvfp7cq","paperback","Paperback","2022","https:\u002F\u002Fcovers.openlibrary.org\u002Fb\u002Fid\u002F15157481-L.jpg","9781787302945",{"id":92,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":77,"format_label":78,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":88,"cover_url":93,"cover_blurhash":7,"isbn_13":94,"asin":7,"publisher":95,"language":82,"quality_score":96,"submission_status":83},"01knsz6y0av4eykytj5ty6hz9w","https:\u002F\u002Fcovers.openlibrary.org\u002Fb\u002Fid\u002F13222635-L.jpg","9780143136873","Penguin Publishing Group",6,{"id":98,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":77,"format_label":78,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":79,"cover_url":7,"cover_blurhash":7,"isbn_13":99,"asin":7,"publisher":95,"language":82,"quality_score":15,"submission_status":83},"01knsz6y0g3n69v953nvmsc700","9780143136880",{"id":101,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":77,"format_label":78,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":88,"cover_url":7,"cover_blurhash":7,"isbn_13":102,"asin":7,"publisher":81,"language":82,"quality_score":15,"submission_status":83},"01knsz6y11787rcszf9b5j1fyf","9781473593367",{"summary":104,"pace":105,"complexity":105,"complexity_score":106,"audience":107,"mood":108,"themes":114,"setting_period":116,"content_warnings":117},"Exhausted by being the only woman expected to make the office coffee, Ms. Shibata announces she's pregnant — a total lie she must now sustain for nine months. As padded shirts, a pregnancy app, and prenatal classes turn the ruse into a life, the boundary between her fiction and her reality dissolves. A deadpan, prize-winning feminist satire of overwork and loneliness.","moderate",4,"adult",[109,110,111,112,113],"satirical","reflective","melancholic","funny","thought-provoking",[115],"unreliable-narrator","Contemporary Japan",[],{"id":119,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":77,"format_label":78,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"publish_date":88,"cover_url":7,"cover_blurhash":13,"isbn_13":120,"asin":7,"publisher":121,"language":7},"01ktdezvgpfxj8stjbwteewjp0","9788499989044","Editorial Temas de Hoy",[],"2026-04-09T20:33:48.000000Z",{"data":125,"links":164,"meta":165},[126,142,150],{"id":127,"slug":128,"title":129,"user":130,"work_id":4,"is_draft":20,"verified_reader":21,"featured":20,"body":7,"overall_rating":137,"depth":7,"momentum":7,"atmosphere":7,"craft":7,"impact":7,"spice":7,"spoiler_level":138,"locale":7,"feed_item_key":139,"like_count":18,"comment_count":18,"top_likers":140,"viewer_can_reply":20,"created_at":141,"updated_at":141},"01kwdxfh4pkws4knf6ff42jjn2","review-of-diary-of-a-void-by-patient-bookworm","Review of \"Diary of a Void\" by patient_bookworm",{"id":131,"name":132,"username":133,"avatar_url":134,"is_system":20,"published_reviews_count":135,"books_read_count":136},575,"Patient Bookworm","patient_bookworm","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Favatars\u002F575.webp?v=1782877720",369,461,5,"none","rv-01kwdxfh4pkws4knf6ff42jjn2",[],"2026-07-01T04:02:33.000000Z",{"id":143,"slug":144,"title":145,"user":7,"work_id":4,"is_draft":20,"verified_reader":21,"featured":20,"body":146,"overall_rating":106,"depth":7,"momentum":7,"atmosphere":7,"craft":7,"impact":7,"spice":7,"spoiler_level":138,"locale":7,"feed_item_key":147,"like_count":18,"comment_count":18,"top_likers":148,"viewer_can_reply":20,"created_at":149,"updated_at":149},"01kr82xz7m60f676fvfqqx2fmf","review-of-diary-of-a-void-by-deleted-258","Review of \"Diary of a Void\" by deleted_258","So it started on the day when the section head muttered that the cups in the meeting room needed to be washed. Having deadline to meet and can't understand why she always had to do all the menial tasks in the department and deal with the messes they'd made, Shibata decided for a little experiment. \n\n\"I can't do it. I'm pregnant. The smell of coffee, it triggers my morning sickness.The cigarettes too...\" And that's how Shibata became pregnant with Week 5 and counting.\n\nTold in an epistolary format; a diary entry accordingly to her pregnancy week (as the Japanese title for this book echoes the Boshi techō; a maternal and child health handbook that enable mothers to document the chronicle of their pregnancies in Japan), it was so descriptively narrated, quite cunning yet so surreal and provocative. I like the combination of themes as it was not only revolves on the workplace discrimination, gender prejudice and womanhood in the patriarchal society but also tackles the issue in pregnancy (the hurdle to conceive and postpartum depression) and self existence.\n\nWell structured with great 'imaginary' development and it amazes me on how Shibata really went all out in faking her pregnancy-- from planning her diet, getting maternity badge for subway to joining mommies aerobics and finding a good name for the baby. Love that throughout her journey she learns so much about her co-workers, meeting new friends, understanding behaviours and most of all; to stop misjudging. \n\nThe blurry line in between truth and lies quite captivating-- the absurdity gets too thrilled and tensed that at a point I wonder if it was true(?) esp when Week 32 ended with 'the baby's been kicking so much more lately' that she decided for a check-up later. Higashinakano's story was such a twist and Hosono too-- both were distressing yet so thoroughly explored.\n\nLove how Shibata overcame the situation at the end with such a great aftermath to end her diary. Riveting and bold, a recommendation if you're searching for a social commentary premise but want it to be a light and joyful read. 4.3 stars to this!\n\nThank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a proof copy for review!","rv-01kr82xz7m60f676fvfqqx2fmf",[],"2026-05-10T04:39:35.000000Z",{"id":151,"slug":152,"title":153,"user":154,"work_id":4,"is_draft":20,"verified_reader":21,"featured":20,"body":7,"overall_rating":15,"depth":7,"momentum":7,"atmosphere":7,"craft":7,"impact":7,"spice":7,"spoiler_level":138,"locale":7,"feed_item_key":161,"like_count":18,"comment_count":18,"top_likers":162,"viewer_can_reply":20,"created_at":163,"updated_at":163},"01knsz703cezt3h2n9a2vv8nvh","review-of-diary-of-a-void-by-ayesha-2","Review of \"Diary of a Void\" by ayesha_2",{"id":155,"name":156,"username":157,"avatar_url":158,"is_system":20,"published_reviews_count":159,"books_read_count":160},97,"Ayesha","ayesha_2","https:\u002F\u002Flh3.googleusercontent.com\u002Fa\u002FACg8ocKMFhclcnY-u82QadLsWOAPntypLlKOLpunEgo_iGP6IIqgxlem9w=s96-c",96,171,"rv-01knsz703cezt3h2n9a2vv8nvh",[],"2026-04-09T20:33:51.000000Z",{"first":7,"last":7,"prev":7,"next":7},{"path":166,"per_page":167,"next_cursor":7,"prev_cursor":7,"has_more":20},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fapi\u002Fworks\u002F01knsz6xy07nkcmtq8ssacskzc\u002Freviews",20]