A review by unfetteredfiction
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

"Even if it's a lie, it's a place of my own. That's why I'm going to keep it."

• Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void, translated by David Boyd and Lucy North 

Tired of her sexist co-workers expecting her to take on more and more of the menial tasks at work, Shibata tells them that she is pregnant. This is a lie.

Her lie lives and breathes in ways I wasn't expecting, and her story details her journey to both protect that lie and use it. We see Shibata experience loneliness, judgement, isolation, connection, anxiety and often a numbness which makes her seem slightly out of reach. Her story is an engaging one. I felt like a fly on the wall, watching the small comings and goings of her life, which is told a matter-of-fact way. 

The book's title is a quirky play on 母子手帳, the Maternal and Child Health Handbook which is issued to all pregnant mothers in Japan. In the book's title the 母子 (mother and child) is replaced by 空芯 - empty core, encouraging us to make our own assumptions about Shibata.