1.5 stars

This book is a collection of five stories about women who are shunned or marginalized by modern Japanese society. Here's a quick breakdown of each:
• Story 1: A divorced, unemployed woman – ★★☆☆☆
• Story 2: A woman dealing with the stigma of a past illness – ★☆☆☆☆
• Story 3: A part-time working mother – ★★★☆☆
• Story 4: A young woman torn about marriage – ★☆☆☆☆
• Story 5: A palm reader who rejects societal expectations – ★☆☆☆☆

The third story really hit home for me.
“All I thought about was my children, my husband, my mother, my father-in-law; All I wanted was more money and more sleep.”

I could deeply relate. As someone who juggles work, motherhood, and household responsibilities, that feeling of being overwhelmed is so real. It’s not that I’m unhappy — I am happy with my life — but sometimes it just feels like no one really sees how hard you're trying. That line reminded me of how often I’ve forgotten to express gratitude to my own mother, who probably felt the same way once.
But the book was packaged in a super boring way. The way the stories unfolded just wasn’t my favorite.The pacing and tone didn’t hold my interest, even though I appreciated the messages behind them.
Please, read another dazzling review before deciding , this book just wasn’t for me.

Note : Thank you, HarperVia, for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In these stories, Japanese women grapple with societal and social expectations around their participation in work. They reflect on their identities both with and without work and how they are experienced by those around them based on this status. The stories capture the tediousness and exasperation many of these women feel about work. It's relatable, but perhaps more so if you have some level of knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture too.

This has much of the dark slice of life that I've come to expect from Japanese short story collections and I enjoyed it! It didn't seem to make or break the genre for me though, I can see why it has a following! I'm glad to have read it!

Loved loved loved. This was such a fun yet eye opening book. I’ve really been into translated fiction, so I’m excited this was finally translated into English! Imagine if Severance met Sally Rooney? Lackadaisical, slightly dystopian and dysfunctional but absolutely stunning.

I have such mixed emotions with The Dilemmas of Working Women. While I finished reading the book, quite often I felt as though I wanted to stop reading. Parts would propel to keep reading, but most of it felt stagnant. The stories blended too much in my head, with the exception of the last story since it was told from the perspective of a man. The translation seemed clunky which distracted me (I was reading more to understand the meaning of the sentence rather than focusing on what was taking place in the story). However, I did enjoy that most of the stories were of familiar origins and could likely be told by any number of women. While depressing at times, it was sadly realistic. The struggle for identity as a woman who is or is not married, who does or does not work [fill in any other dichotomy that fits], it seems as though society will not allow women to enjoy any part of their life since they struggle to juggle all aspects. The Dilemma of Working Women resoundingly demonstrates this point. Overall, it was a 3-star read.

*The Dilemmas of Working Women* offers a thoughtful, nuanced examination of the complex challenges faced by women balancing professional ambition with societal expectations and personal responsibilities. Through a blend of personal narratives, cultural critique, and workplace analysis, the book sheds light on the invisible labor, double standards, and emotional toll that working women often endure. While some sections lean heavily on well-trodden ground, the authors’ insight and empathy make this a valuable and validating read for anyone navigating gendered dynamics in the workplace. It’s both a mirror and a call to action, encouraging change from the inside out.

Yamamoto has a really interesting book here. There is some wit and humor while also showing a real reflection of society. I think this book is fun to read but also causes you to think about your place in society especially as a woman. I greatly enjoyed it.

Funny and stern, all at the same time.
Yamamoto creates a canvas for beautiful novel and succeeds in painting the picture. The stories were empowering and hilarious. I would recommend to anyone who loves feminist fiction that’s not too heavy, great for getting out of a reading slump.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed these stories and found myself laughing out loud at times. It was nice to get lost in this collection while in trying times.

An eclectic collection about women in Japan just trying to get by despite certain expectations to conform to stereotypical traditional values of Japanese culture.

The Dilemmas of Working Women showcases a brilliant balance of both the heaviness and levity of life.

while this book isn’t “new” persay, thank you so much to netgalley, harpervia and fumio yamamoto for this english translation ARC.

what a treat. i thoroughly enjoyed the ride that this book was, the mess and the honestly. it’s impressive that a book written over 20 years ago can still be so relevant today.

i think i am learning my favorite book genre and its whatever this is serving- reality, some feminine bite and a slice of a real imperfect life.

*The Dilemmas of Working Women* by Fumio Yamamoto is an eye-opening look at the challenges women face in the workplace. The book dives into everything from balancing career and personal life to dealing with societal expectations, and it's super relevant to today’s world. Yamamoto does a great job of mixing research and real-life examples, making the issues feel personal and relatable. Some parts felt a bit heavy on the statistics, but the overall message is powerful and thought-provoking. If you're interested in gender issues or just want a deeper understanding of the struggles working women face, this book is definitely worth reading!

Fumio Yamamoto’s The Dilemmas of Working Women, translated by Brian Bergstrom, offers a unique snapshot into the lives of modern Japanese women navigating their careers, relationships, and identities. It’s such a gift to read translated works like this one, as it provides a raw glimpse into the culture of being a woman in a country I have never been to and thus might never have grasped so intimately otherwise.

Each story treats the reader as though the narrator is confiding in their closest friend, or jotting down their innermost thoughts in a diary. It’s personal yet friendly, making it easier to connect with the characters even when the cultural experiences are unfamiliar. The narrative tone balances melancholia and humor in the same way the protagonists balance their most raw musings with how others perceive their lives.

My favorite story was Naked — it introduces you to the collective with a story you aren’t expecting based on the title alone, and it made me feel more open to the rest of the stories. Naked portrayed the deconstruction of an ambitious woman, and dared me to think what my life would be like if I simply had more time — time to enjoy, time to spend, time to waste — then tossed it on its head, de-glorifying the notion.

The Dilemmas of Working Women is about how women are treated in Japanese society — by men who seek to dominate them, by their peers, and by themselves. The stories aren’t plot-driven but rather introspective, deeply personal yet universally relatable. While I overall enjoyed Yamamoto’s storytelling, some of the stories felt repetitive, dragging on a bit when the narrative could have kept pushing forward. I also felt like I was left hanging at times, though unfortunately, the nature of short stories is it can be easy to finish them and feel as though you wanted so much more. None of this ruined my reading experience so much that I didn’t want to finish the book, nor did it take away from my overall appreciation.

For that, I give this collection three stars. It’s a read that's insightful, thought-provoking, and it'll linger in your mind long after you’ve put it down. If you enjoy character-driven, reflective storytelling, then The Dilemmas of Working Women is worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for providing an advanced reading copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This work of fiction showcases the ongoing issues of working women in Japan face as they navigate life employed/unemployed.

These short stories highlight the inner turmoil of “demanding” women deal with it in and out of the workforce and how men focused society still is. When reading about each woman, one can see how the male characters behavior towards the woman changes based on their employment status.

I found I had a hard time getting into this book but once I got 30% in I really became connected to the characters. The short stories helped keep me engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite story out of the collection was ‘Here, Which Is Nowhere’ this is a story of an older working woman who has been forced to take a late night job to help with the finances in her home. She goes on being unappreciated and taken advantage of in her home by her husband and her children.

I may have related to this the most because it’s a situation I’ve seen many women end up in. All of the stories have some element in a woman’s life that is universally relatable.

Some cultural context is needed when reading these stories and I think the translation work is ok but it does come across quite melancholic. This is a book that really emphasizes the struggles and pressure of being a working woman, burnout, societal expectations and self expectations too.

I overall enjoyed reading this book and would recommend if you’re looking to relate to other people in tough work/ post work related situations.

PS I LOVE THIS COVER

A poignant and darkly comedic look at the lives of women trying to navigate the working world in Japan.

I liked 3/5 stories, or maybe understood is a better word. The last two struck me as a little odd in comparison to the rest of them. I enjoyed all of the stories though, in one way or another.

DNF

I wasn´t able to finish this book. I didn´t enjoy it half as much as I expected. It is not a bad book, but it wasn´t the right book for someone like myself. Perhaps I could enjoy it in a different moment of my life.

While all the women in Yamamoto’s five stories find themselves in different life situations, the thing that unites them all is their dilemma: living up to expectations. No matter what her age, ethnicity, or station in life, I can’t think of a woman who wouldn’t relate to the crushing weight of expectations, whether those come from friends, family, spouses, co-workers, or, perhaps most hard to face, herself. And while I am not a working woman in Japan, I found ways to relate to all the women in these stories as they react to and retreat from their society’s expectations.

I found the narrative structure of each story very interesting. Although some readers might be frustrated by a seeming lack of resolution at the end of each story, I was not bothered by the somewhat abrupt endings. Instead of a solution to her problem, each narrator finds a moment of catharsis (some admittedly more subtle than others). This seems fitting as their lives confront societal pressures; society does not change, but they can. Some, it seems, will make a change. Others’ futures are unclear. Some even seem to dig their heels in further, creating a more static character than some readers might enjoy. But overall, I found it both believable and entertaining. The choice to make the narrator of the final story a man was intriguing, but for me, it didn’t add a lot to my reading experience. His character was not nearly as interesting as the female protagonist, and I found myself simply wanting to hear what was going on in her head instead of his.

Five stories, each focusing on different aspects of being a woman in today’s society. While sometimes, with translations, the wordings or characters can fall a little flat, I found it added to the mundanity and ridiculousness of some of the situations the main characters found themselves in. For some reason, I wished there was a connecting throughline within the stories, but did also like how each story focused on each woman, just for a little bit.

Overall, even though it’s a slice of life book, it didn’t feel slow and I enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley, HarperVia, and Yamamoto for the opportunity to read this ARC.