The Dilemmas of Working Women

First published in Japan in 2000, the late Fumio Yamamoto’s bestseller finally hits our shelves with five complicated and poignant stories about the different lives of women in contemporary Japan.

In ‘Naked’, a divorced, unemployed woman makes stuffed Pokémon toys to pass the time. In ‘Planarian’, a woman struggles with everyone’s frustration about her breast cancer, imploring her to move on. A mum worries about the continual disappearance of her daughter at night in ‘Here, Which is Nowhere’. The titular story focuses on a woman who feels pressured into marriage by her boyfriend, who she’s not sure she loves anymore, if she ever did. And the final story, ‘A Tomorrow Full of Love’, depicts a strange relationship between a chef and a palm reader.

Yamamoto explores the pressures on women to pursue marriage and children, while also demanding they pursue a full-time career that leaves little time for oneself. What struck me was how raw this novel felt in comparison to the more whimsical and cosy Japanese translated fiction that is popular today. For Yamamoto’s women, there are no magical cats or childhood recipes that can remedy their personal trials. Each of the five women is connected by their loneliness as they try to juggle their careers, relationships, families, and mental wellbeing while simultaneously always feeling like they are doing everything wrong. There are no catalysts to push them other than their own strength and will to pursue what they actually want – for the first time in their lives – rather than following someone else.

I think the most powerful thing about The Dilemmas of Working Women is how it has withstood the test of time and remains as relevant today as it did 25 years ago. Yamamoto beautifully captures the quiet resilience of women against the overbearing weight of societal expectations.