A beautiful story retelling the life of 70 year old Kazuo, who bravely navigates her way through her cultural upbringing whilst breaking free of her bonds by following a path she wants, despite not all of her decisions being in her best interest and experiencing heartbreak, love, loss and grief along the way. Kazuo describes, with such candour, her emotions as she reflects on the life she had led and the outcomes of decisions she made that led her to where she is now. Such a wholesome, moving story, that had me cheering and my heartbreaking for her. I can't imagine what it must have been like and the bravery it would have taken at a young age to follow her own path despite what was expected of her. Definitely a book with a lot to take away.

A fascinating semi-autobiographical account of Chiyo’s life, her experiences being raised by a father with gambling and drinking problems, recounting her young adult life, relationships, and sexuality.

I appreciated the story and the interesting life, but I did not enjoy the writing style, and it felt like work to complete it.

Seventy year old Kazue looks back on her life, reflecting on her life choices. Raised in a household where her
alcoholic father ruled with demands and expectations, forced into a marriage when she was young, Kazue was
determined to live her life on her own terms. Despite what others thought, she foloowed her heart.
#TheStoryofaSingleWoman #PushkinPress #NetGalley

The Story of a Single Woman by Chiyo Uno was originally published in Japan in the 70s and is now being released in English for the first time this year by Pushkin Press.

The novel is an I-Novel, a semi-autobiographical story based on Uno’s own life told through the eyes of fictional Kazue who looks back on her young life in her later years. Kazue’s life begins in a small mountain village with her family and takes us to Tokyo via Korea and then onwards to various other places that Kazue frequents. Kazue’s life is unconventional for the time period she lives in and I find her character intriguing due to the choices she makes, in a way I envy the way she can step away from one thing to start afresh. The story is well paced and engrossing, I enjoyed seeing where Kazue was going at the different points in her life. I didn’t expect it to end where it did, as it was quite abrupt but I don’t mind that too much, it makes the book a brief vignette on a period in Kazue’s life.

I would recommend this book as a short, enjoyable and engrossing read. Especially for people who enjoy a reflective look at an unconventional life (certainly for the time period).

Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the digital

The Story of a Single Woman is a thoughtful and poetic autobiographical novel about a woman who follows her impulses and inadvertently lives what was, in her age, a highly unconventional life. While it can be read as a study of a woman’s experience coming of age in prewar Japan, the directness and simplicity of the prose universalizes this fictionalized retelling of Uno’s early life so that it transcends constraints of time and place. It’s effectively imbued with both the intimacy of a letter to her past self, and the shrewd wisdom borne of the detachment created by age. This nuanced depiction of a fearless young woman on a quest for self discovery is well-deserving of its distinction as a classic piece of autobiographical fiction.

Thanks Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

"The Story of a Single Woman" is a novel that portrays the life of a woman who breaks the shackles of conventional morality that society forces on individuals. She isn't afraid to assert and think for herself. It's well written with stunning imagery and a rich narrative by a writer who has already lived this story herself.

This autobiographical work of Chiyo Uno is an intricate journey into many domains of the author's experiences, which were marked by painful relations, including four marriages and divorces. Written in her 70s, the manuscript chronicles the author's suppressed rage, bitterness, conflict with her ex-husbands, thus giving voice, out of a context of almost cold detachment. The stark writing style and unemotional way through which these feelings are depicted gives the novel a severely beautiful quality stampeding with power, one that some readers may find disturbing, while others will find overtly distant.

Interspersed throughout are several of the themes encompassing love, regret, and self-awareness; which are heavily nuanced by the shifts in the protagonist's perception of marriage— expressing both a desire to avoid it at one point and an obsessive addiction to it at another—contributing to a sense of psychological dissonance. While the novel effectively captures the internal conflict and emotional nuances of the protagonist, the heavy use of irony and the sense of detachment can feel intrusive to some readers, especially when the author seems to demand empathy for actions that may appear selfish or contradictory.

Breaking in the clouds, the novel offers a fascinating exploration of human behavior, especially in the way the protagonist engages in actions that seem almost unbelievable—such as showing up at an ex-lover’s house with a knife or abandoning her husband to start anew in Tokyo. These events are daring and force the reader to reconsider the nature of passion and self-destructive tendencies. There’s a notable tension between the protagonist's actions and her ability to grasp the emotions of others, especially her lovers and mother-in-law, which adds layers of complexity to her character. This remarkable sensitivity contrasts with her often cold, almost clinical writing, and invites readers to question their own responses to such behavior.

However, there’s a downside for those who may not appreciate the protagonist’s constant self-analysis and the author’s tone of forced introspection. The book often feels like it invites sympathy for the protagonist's struggles without offering room for readers to form their own conclusions. This can feel grating for those who prefer a more emotionally open or vulnerable narrative. For instance, I don't particularly agree with the author promiscuous way, not because simply that she is a woman but for who she has affected with this behavior. However, that is what draws compassion for the author on me, and I would have to think even less of the book if you weren't able to enjoy it — quite understandable.

Ultimately, the novel’s style and content will resonate with readers interested in a deeply introspective, and at times unsettling, exploration of the complexities of love, regret, and the search for self-understanding. For others, the lack of emotional expression and the self-absorbed tone might make it an alienating experience. I on the other hand, actually quite enjoy with how the story was told.

Uno Chiyo was born in 1897, that’s a long time ago kids, she began writing in the 1930s all the way up to 1987. In the midst of her literary career she also started up a fashion magazine, became a successful kimono designer, and got married and divorced 3 times. She wasn’t someone who liked to be tied down to one person or one thing clearly.
This is an ARC so I anticipate when it is released it will go down well with contemporary readers of Japanese lit, because of the themes of the book covers. Uno Chiyo was a trailblazer for female writers, and similarly to Taeko Kono and Izumi Suzuki, she defied societal norms of the time she was writing. Exploring sexual desire and female independence. Showing that women don’t need to get married and have kids like society expects them to. And I think this will resonate with today’s readers with Japanese translated lit being flooded with strong female voices like Kawakami, Murata, Ogawa, Kirino, Imamura etc etc. it’s a perfect time for this book to come into translation.
However, despite the fact that I admire Chiyo’s intentions and her voice in this book, for me it just doesn’t fully work. The main reason being it’s around 160 pages, maybe a 2/3 hour read. And just too much happens. I never felt emotionally invested because something would happen and there’s be little time to think about it cause now we are somewhere else. For example, Kazue gets a job teaching, resigns, moves to Korea, and comes back, in about 16 pages. And as much I like the idea of this exploration of why Kazue followed this life, was it because of her father, or was it because of something else inside her, overall I just couldn’t get invested.
But thanks to @netgalley and @pushkin_press for letting me read this

I found the concept of this book really interesting. It’s based on the authors own past, but told in the third person.
I enjoyed seeing what life was like for women at the time, and I liked seeing how the present day Kazue reflected on her past experiences and thoughts.

There was something about the writing that just didn’t connect with me though. I don’t know whether that was because of the way it was translated or if I would’ve felt the same with the original, but the writing style just felt too direct at points.

I recommend this to people who are looking for a quick read and enjoy reading about women through history/ the expectations society put on them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an ARC!

Genre: Japanese semi-autobiographical/Fiction
Mood: Reflective, Emotional, Informative
Seasonal read: Any Season
Rating: 3.75/5 stars

"If others do to her what she has done to someone else, she does not hate them for it. After all, Kazue was never conscious of what she was doing. She simply took what life had to offer, with no more resistance than if she were being buffeted along by the wind."

This story is referred to as an "I-novel" that is neither fully an autobiography or work of fiction. The books narrator is exploring the life of Kazue and analysing the distinctly non-traditional choices she made, especially in regards to men, from her childhood until her 30's.

When Kazue's iron fisted father dies, she decides early on that she doesn't want to be tied down in a marriage and wants to live her life with complete freedom experiencing anything that was previously deemed forbidden.

Generally speaking, I applauded Kazue for being so bold in her choices and living her life with no restraints. However I found occasionally she was far too impulsive and almost unlikable, not giving any thought as to who she would hurt with her actions. Her redeeming factor was that she would make no excuses and gracefully accept the consequences of her choices.

This was a great read for gaining some insight as to what was expected of women in Japan in the early 1900's. Though I do believe some of the Authors/Kazue's choices would still be considered controversial today! 😅

Thank you so much to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

This short novella blends reality and fiction in the recounting of the life of Kazue, from her youth in relative poverty to her middle age, Kazue drifts between partners and places without a care for the judgments of the society and people around her. Transgressive for it's time, The Story of a Single Woman offers a lens into the past, exploring attitudes towards marriage, women, and independent thinkers in a tightly packed novel that wastes no words.

The Story of a Single Woman by Uno Chiyo, translated by Rebecca Copeland, a classic first published in 1972 is an ‘I-novel’ (neither strictly autobiographical nor fiction) with a narrator observing and sharing life events/memories of the protagonist Kazue, who’s over 70 yrs old at the book’s start. Though she hails from an affluent family of sake brewers on her father’s side, Kazue knows poverty and hardships, thanks to her wastrel father. Having lost her mother quite soon after her birth, living under her father’s iron fisted control, Kazue’s gentle and understanding stepmother offers some relief. When Kazue’s father dies, he leaves a lacuna in her that fills up gradually with freedom, a freedom to do all that he had forbidden her from.

Kazue takes up jobs to keep the home running, she loves make-up that makes her appealing but fears it for she knows it’s a false veneer. She loves, pines and desires men without wanting to be tied down in marriage which she dismisses as futile. What pushes Kazue to wander, do random jobs, build a new home with a man only to abandon it abruptly, then seek a new place, job and a new partner? Over time, her minor eccentricities grow into a conspicuous streak of madness. Was she tottering down the same path her wayward father had trodden?

In times when loyalty and chastity were mandatory adjectives for womenfolk, Kazue’s promiscuous behaviour, her actions that transcended logic and norms without a care for consequences is unbelievably overwhelming. Her thoughts/ways reminded me a lot of Ammani from T Janakiraman’s novel Wooden Cow, both sensitive and precocious beings affected by childhood events. Uno Chiyo who turned her life into many prize-winning novels was ostracised as a teenager by her village only to be celebrated later as their prodigal daughter. The Story of a Single Woman may give you an unlikeable protagonist but it nudges you to empathise with her. For leading a life without much thought/analysis, Kazue pushes you to think about her long after the book’s over.

I received a free copy of, The Story of a Single Woman, by Chiyo Uno, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an autobiographical account of Japanese author Chiyo Uno's life, spanning her childhood to her mid-thirties, written from the perspective of Kazue, a fictional character in her seventies, reflecting on her life. Kazue is born to a strict father and loving stepmother. Kazue faces life’s challenges head-on, determined to understand the love between man and woman. All this while defying traditional expectations.

Can I just say wow? This book mainly focuses on her relationships, affairs, and encounters. While reading I felt that she drifted from one relationship to another. Along with this, she would just leave her life for a new one, and she would do this without much concern for the impact it would cause. This takes bravery! She faced all the consequences of her decisions with composure!

She truly lived her life, regardless of the societal damage her reputation would take. She did this all during a time when Japanese women were supposed to be submissive and quiet. She embraced who she was and lived life the way she wanted. She is one of the women who has paved the way for modern women to live the life they want. Anyone who’s followed their heart, going against society, or everyone who says otherwise, could truly appreciate this book.

I found this book fascinating. I’ve been interested in Japanese culture for several years, and The Story of a Single Woman offers a perspective on Japan that I haven’t seen or watched before. The story follows Kazue, an elderly woman reflecting on her life from her youth until she reaches 30, set in the early 20th century.

Though this book is fiction, it's based on the author's own early life, written in the style of a fictional character looking back on her past. In a way it felt like the author was reflecting on her own experiences through Kazue. This added more depth to the book and made me appreciate it a lot more. My favourite aspects of the book were learning more about Japan in the early 20th century and Kazue's defiance of societal norms. I gained insight about the expectations placed on women (and families) during this time, such as Kazue’s obeying her father no matter what and her learning and then choosing to live her life on her own terms. Even now her promiscuous lifestyle could be considered controversial with Kazue having relationships with various men without the intention to marry. I always love reading about an unapologetic woman.

The novella’s fast pace made it intriguing, a consequence of this is I wish it was longer. I want to learn more about the culture Kazue lives in and the people around her. There were moments when I wanted to know what happened to people who disappeared from her life. Overall, this book is a great read for anyone interested in Japanese history and culture. I’d recommend it for any Japanophile.

This was such an interesting read! I have never read any works by Uno Chiyo before and the book synopsis intrigued me. This is a semi-autobiographical account of Chiyo’s life from birth to the age of thirty, in which she explores her relationship with men, family, marriage, work, and ultimately herself and her quest for independence. She begins by outlining her childhood and her experiences with her father - an alcoholic gambler who made Chiyo the subject of his whims and fancies. Under his tyranny at home, Chiyo learns the skill of self prevention through pleasing others. As she grows up, she struggles with her sexual awakening and details her life as it takes her through the romantic relationships of four different men. Through it all, she explores her perception of marriage, her approach to life, and her desire to stay connected to her former life in her childhood country home.

This work is a simple and fast paced read. The author shows evidence of her maturity in her semi autobiographical character and her relationships with men and others as well. In all, I appreciated this author’s work, as well as the work of the translator, Rebecca Copeland. Her note at the beginning of the work helped put this story into significant context for me and helped me understand the goal of this work.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for sending me an electronic ARC of this work in exchange for an open and honest review!

I absolutely loved reading this book.

This is a new translation of a book written by Japanese writer Chiyo Uno in 1972. The book starts with an introduction which contextualizes the largely autobiographical novel by giving a helpful overview of her life. This meant that technically I had a good idea of what was going to happen in the book before I started reading it. Though some might think of that as a spoiler, my experience of the book was enhanced by understanding that there is truth at the core of the novel.

In the story, the protagonist describes her youth, being sent to a cousin's house to be married and then leaving that house 10 days later, to travel to Korea and then various locations in Japan. The introduction and sell copy focused quite a bit on the later parts of the book, which include the author's sexual awakening and independence, but I found the earlier sections to be beautiful as well. The book is short--only 160 pages, and not one word was wasted. I felt throughout the book that I understood what was motivating this woman and was fascinated by the way she made choices and moved through the world. This isn't a time in Japan's history I'd learned much about, and it was also helpful to see how she frames the decisions and what mattered to her at the time in the context of when different parts of the story were taking place.

Overall, it's a short read, a jewel box of a book. Do yourself a favor and read it!!

Thank you to Pushkin Press for providing a copy of this book for review consideration.

The Story of a Single Woman is an I-novel originally published in Japan in 1972 and is being rereleased in English by Pushkin Press in April 2025. The I-novel is a type of autofiction that was popular in Japan in the early 20th century. The Story of a Single Woman follows the events of Uno Chiyo's early life as told by the seventy something protagonist Kazue reflecting on her youth.

The story begins with Kazue's childhood with her impulsive and irresponsible father. When Kazue is 13 she is sent to marry her cousin. She leaves her cousin after ten days to care for her dying father and never returns. After this point the story focuses on each of Kazue's relationships and the impacts of the endings of those relationships.

The narrator is quite unemotional and detached, however she is not unkind to her younger self. This narration style might not work for every reader, but I thought it was really effective. We aren't seeing Kazue's life in the moment, but rather her memories of these events that have been dulled and softened over the decades. The handful of scenes where she does show stronger reactions stand out more as pivotal moments in her young life.

Kazue is from a small town in Japan.
She reflects on her life as a mature woman later.
Pros: 1920s Japan, and the later reflection, some descriptions, Kazue’s family trauma as a complex component, her independence
Cons: Many aspects. I did not find the above well executed or well interwoven into a curious narrative.
I found it tedious.

This was exactly what I expected it to be -- it didn't blow me away nor did it succumb to any expectations I had of it. It was a really interesting look into a different culture and time and the things Chiyo Uno experienced as a woman in 1920s Japan. Most importantly, I think, is the ability to bring books like this into the limelight so that these sort of cultural differences can be read today, so far removed from their original context, but still the true musings of an individual who, despite having no connection to its readers, can still find common ground.

This book follows the story of Kazue and her romantic entanglements as she breaks the mold and follows her own path.

I found the pacing slow, but that actually really leant itself to the narrative. It was tender and introspective, honest and raw. It’s semi-autobiographical and whilst the writer never covered or sugar coated any of her memories, there was also no blame or judgement for any of the choices she made.

I found I had to keep reminding myself of the time and place to remember how truly avant-garde and shocking this story really is.