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Just Arrived

The Dilemmas of Working Women

by Brian Bergstrom, Fumio Yamamoto
RM52.00 MYR
Compare to estimated retail price: RM81.00 MYR  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

The Dilemmas of Working Women
The Dilemmas of Working Women

Darkly funny feminism for weary working souls

This is for anyone who’s ever felt alienated by work and quietly furious at the roles they’re expected to play. Yamamoto writes women who are sharp, flawed, funny, and deeply human, and that honesty gives the stories real bite. It feels both unsettling and oddly comforting, like someone finally saying the rude, complicated truth out loud.

  • Naoki Prize 直木三十五賞 (2000)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Just Arrived

The Dilemmas of Working Women

by Brian Bergstrom, Fumio Yamamoto
RM52.00 MYR
Compare to estimated retail price: RM81.00 MYR  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

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ISBN: 9780063423589
Authors: Brian Bergstrom, Fumio Yamamoto
Publisher: HarperVia
Date of Publication: 2025-08-12
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: Literary Fiction, Contemporary
Related Topics: Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Feminism
Goodreads rating: 3.67
(rated by 1874 readers)

Description

A spiky, edgy collection of five wickedly funny stories spotlighting clear-eyed and difficult women who are navigating their identities as workers and women in contemporary Japan—a feminist, anti-capitalist modern classic published outside Asia and in English for the first time. The Dilemmas of Working Women is Fumio Yamamoto's darkly witty look at modern Japanese women who are ambivalent about their lives and jobs. In "Naked," a woman who's simultaneously lost her business and her husband finds that it is surprisingly comfortable to stay at home sewing stuffed animals, even if it makes her a loser in the eyes of society. In "Planarian," a young woman recovering from breast cancer tells her friends and boyfriend that she would prefer to be the titular worm to organically regenerate her body. Each of these spiky women—as well as the three other protagonists in this groundbreaking work—chafes against social expectations that equate work with worth and demand women squeeze into the confining and sometimes dehumanizing role of employee in a world built by and for men. First published in Japan in 2000, The Dilemmas of Working Women struck a nerve with Japanese readers and became a bestselling literary sensation, selling nearly half a million copies and winning the prestigious Naoki Prize in Literature. A quarter of a century later, this brilliant modern classic—available for the first time outside Asia and in English—remains deliciously funny and astonishingly relevant.
 

Darkly funny feminism for weary working souls

This is for anyone who’s ever felt alienated by work and quietly furious at the roles they’re expected to play. Yamamoto writes women who are sharp, flawed, funny, and deeply human, and that honesty gives the stories real bite. It feels both unsettling and oddly comforting, like someone finally saying the rude, complicated truth out loud.

  • Naoki Prize 直木三十五賞 (2000)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.