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Blair's Reviews > There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
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really liked it
bookshelves: 2020-release, contemporary, netgalley, read-on-kindle, translated

This book is quite odd, but I really liked it. It seemed tailored quite specifically to my tastes and preferences, as though someone had taken my heavily customised order in a book café: so you want irreverent narration, a story in which not much really happens but there are constant undercurrents of weirdness, a protagonist the same age as you, a lot of happily solitary characters, a few things that will make you laugh out loud, and no romance at all? Coming right up.

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is told through several episodes in the life of a 36-year-old woman who has suffered burnout, abandoned her career, and moved back in with her parents. She asks her recruiter to find her an easy job. 'I wanted a job that was practically without substance, a job that sat on the borderline between being a job and not.' The five chapters – each of which would work as a self-contained short story – see her taking on a series of temporary roles: checking surveillance footage; writing scripts for voice ads played on buses; writing copy for cracker wrappers; putting up posters; and monitoring a quiet segment of a large public park.

And that's about all there is to it. Despite the seemingly topical setup (burnout, financial concerns, an older millennial protagonist), encapsulated in lines such as 'Money was of utmost importance to me right now. I had no idea when I might burn out next', this is not a novel that seeks to say anything about either its protagonist or society in general. The narrator remains nameless; her friends and parents are mentioned only in passing; we don't find out the nature of her previous job until the very end of the story, and we learn little about what burnout was like for her.

I loved the narrator almost instantly. Her dry, deadpan humour was hilarious to me. Another thing I liked was the messy, expressive way she describes feelings:

... There was awe there, and anger, and something that felt like those two things combined in equal parts, and then an oh-come-off-it! sort of feeling, a strange sense of respect, some astonishment, not to mention an awareness that I was still terrified and wanted fuck all to do with this affair. All of these combined to form a dirty-green-coloured feeling that filled my chest.


I enjoyed all the stories/chapters, but the second, 'The Bus Advertising Job', was an easy favourite. It's filled with the kind of non-specific strangeness I adore in fiction (there's a suggestion that one of the narrator's coworkers has some sort of magical power, and I couldn't get enough of it). In general, I liked reading about the narrator's relationships with her colleagues – tenuous friendships, uneasy alliances, very true to the universal workplace experience. There are a lot of likeable people in this book; most of them are a little eccentric. I loved watching these characters go about their everyday lives and find moments of joy in the most unexpected things.

The translation is unusual: where most translated literature opts for a sort of neutral English, in this case it's very clear that it's been translated by a British English speaker, and there are lots of Britishisms in the text. I will say that don't think it will work for everyone. But once I'd adjusted to it, I really appreciated it. Because it's consistent, it creates a very distinct identity for the narrator and for the novel.

Comparisons to Convenience Store Woman are perhaps inevitable, but mainly because this is a Japanese novel about a woman who rejects what's expected of her (career-wise, at least). Kikuko Tsumura's narrator and plot don't bear much resemblance to Sayaka Murata's. Another obvious reference is Temporary (same setup, much more surreal), but I was most reminded of meandering, oddly charming novels of modern life such as Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and The New Me.

I received an advance review copy of There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job from the publisher through NetGalley.

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Reading Progress

April 7, 2020 – Shelved
November 9, 2020 – Started Reading
November 10, 2020 –
page 147
35.25%
November 11, 2020 –
page 255
61.15%
November 12, 2020 –
page 364
87.29%
November 12, 2020 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)

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message 1: by Liz (new) - rated it 5 stars

Liz I have to give you a follow because you JUST describe my exact tastes and why I loved this book. I'm sad I finished it so quickly. Also my current job is burning me out and I would love to work on those bus ads...


Blaire Malkin From another Blaire (but with an e)- this description is so good. This will be my next listen on hoopla. I also love this type of book.


message 3: by Sara G (new) - added it

Sara G I read this on a whim and you described perfectly why I enjoyed it, but also why I would consider before recommending it to anyone.


Jamie K Also agreeing that your description of this book is just perfect!! Why I enjoyed it too.


Kalliste You made me realise almost no one had young kids. if kids were mentioned, they were adult kids. As a childfree by choice person, it is a nice realisation that they weren't mentioned and there was no plot point about them.


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