Brought to you by Penguin.A prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about a woman in Japan who avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that she's pregnantWhen thirty-four-year-old Ms Shibata gets a new job in Tokyo to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that, as the only woman at her new workplace - a company that manufactures cardboard tubes - she is expected to do all the meni...

A quirky, joyful, feel-good love story about a lonely museum worker who falls in love with a statue of Venus, from the author of international bestseller Diary of a VoidRika Horauchi’s new part-time job is to converse with a statue of Venus—in Latin—every Monday, when the museum is closed.Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job. Recommended by her old university professor for her exemplary language skills, Rika leads an otherw...

There she stood. A goddess. I was in love with the marble goddess.When Rika Horauchi accepts an unusual new part-time job, she never expects to fall in love.Rika has been tasked with talking to Venus, to keep her company when the museum is closed on Mondays. As Venus comes to life in the quiet of their surroundings, she opens up new worlds for Rika, and they speak about everything. But when the museum’s curator, Hashibami, makes it...

A hilarious, feminist read from a new star in Japanese fiction.For the sake of women everywhere, Ms Shibata is going to pull off the mother of all deceptions.One day at work, Ms Shibata refuses to clear away the coffee cups, because she is pregnant, and cannot bear the smell. The only thing is, Ms Shibata is not pregnant.At first, the lie offers her freedom. But being a mother-to-be is not easy. Ms Shibata has a nine-month ruse to k...

There she stood. A goddess. I was in love with the marble goddess.When Rika Horauchi accepts an unusual new part-time job, she never expects to fall in love.Rika has been tasked with talking to Venus, to keep her company when the museum is closed on Mondays. As Venus comes to life in the quiet of their surroundings, she opens up new worlds for Rika, and they speak about everything. But when the museum’s curator, Hashibami, makes it...