"Here are people caught between loss and regeneration. The struggles of their forlorn hearts are depicted with a light, graceful touch. There will come a point in all of our lives when we will need Fumio Yamamoto's writing." — Saou Ichikawa, author of the International Booker Prize-longlisted Hunchback
“The Dilemmas of Working Women is a delight. With acute insight and sly humor, Fumio Yamamoto depicts the lives of modern Japanese women in all their complexity. The characters, in their quirky idiosyncrasies, are deeply familiar; their stoicisms, heartbreaking. A colloquial and breezy translation that does not read as such.” — Yoon Choi, award-winning author of Skinship
“Witty, wise and thought-provoking, these darkly comic stories portray five unique women as they deal with the societal pressures that come with being a woman in their world.” — Cecelia Ahern, bestselling author of P.S. I Love You
“What an engaging, witty, and unique book. So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorize sentences in order to repeat them to people later. What a win for the English language that we’re finally getting to experience Yamamoto’s inimitable voice.” — Roxy Dunn, author of As Young as This
“Now offered in translation for the first time, this collection featuring women navigating societal expectations (and their small rebellions) is a classic. The author brings complexity, emotion, and a delicate touch to extremely relatable characters.” — Boston Globe
“Brian Bergstrom . . . meticulously translates this audacious five-story collection populated by women bluntly eschewing expectations. The narrators here—four women, one man—each face complex decisions on the cusp of major change. . . . That Yamamoto writes solely in first-person cleverly encourages immediate engagement for readers, creating an instant gateway into the intimacies of these characters’ lives. . . . In upsetting and challenging the venerable institution, many of Yamamoto’s empathic characters—even a quarter-century after their debut—remain timeless figures of strength and resilience.”
— Shelf Awareness
“First published 25 years ago in Japan, this award-winning best-seller captures the modern woman in a dark, unflinching portrait. . . . Messy, mundane, and a bit self-deprecating, Yamamoto’s stories remind readers that they are not alone in life’s bleakness.”
— Booklist