I pretty much forgot about January in Japan for the first half of the month (probably because I never continue past January in Japan) but I did want to read at least one Japanese novel so I borrowed There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job. It’s also a rather seasonally appropriate read, because job hunting season has also begun.
There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job follows our protagonist as she takes on five seemingly easy jobs – Watching a suspect, writing advertising jingles for buses, writing trivia for senbei packets, putting up posters, and staying in a hut in the forest. Each time, she finds something about the job that challenges or pulls her in, but which also ultimately drives her on to the next job. In terms of plot, the stories are connected but independent from each other, making this feel a bit like a short story collection.
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this, but I enjoyed it! I can empathise with the protagonist’s desire for an easy job, and the fact that each job has its challenges and ups and downs is something that was also relatable to me. Most of the jobs are pretty interesting as well, with my favourite being the one where see writes trivia for senbei packets. I thought that the idea of giving people fun conversation topics was cute and it reminded me of the facts that I used to see under Snapple bottle caps. The postering job was also quite interesting – I didn’t expect a possible cult to appear but I liked how the protagonist threw herself into the job and it was fun to see the drive that she has when she believes in what she does.
Another thing that surprised me – until I started writing this review, I didn’t realise that the protagonist was nameless! I never noticed her lack of the name, probably because her voice was so realistic that I could easily inhabit her mind-space and she felt like a complete person even without the name.
Because I could connect with the protagonist, I found that I enjoyed this much more than The Nakano Thrift Shop, even though the two books are pretty similar to me. Overall, I found this to be a sweet, charming book and now, I’m really interested in reading more books from Kikuko Tsumura
This is something everyone can relate to as there is really not such thing as easy job. Great review!
I agree! Every job will have its quirks and its own difficulties.
I know that there are people in my agency who think my job is fairly easy compared to theirs, but then when one of them comes and sits with me or one of my colleagues for the day and learns what is involved, they rethink their theory. The grass is not always greener on the other side . . . I love that the narrator in your book didn’t have a name–that kind of plays into the idea that she could be any of us readers. This sounds like a relatable and fun read. I am definitely interested!
Yes, one thing that runs through the book is that even if the job sounds easy, there may be things about it that make it hard (emotionally, perhaps). It’s a very interesting read, I hope you have the chance to pick it up!
Okay this sounds SUPER interesting and I’m adding this straight onto Goodreads!!
Yesss, I hope you enjoy this too!!!
[…] used to the style of stringing together various stories, a style that also occurs in books like There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job and What You’re Looking For Is In The Library (even Newcomer might fit the bill because those […]