There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

By: Kikuko Tsumura, Polly Barton - translator

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: It’s close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing, and, ideally, very little thinking.

Her first gig - watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods - turns out to be inconvenient. (When can she go to the bathroom?) Her next gives way to the supernatural: announcing advertisements for shops that mysteriously disappear. As she moves from job to job - writing trivia for rice cracker packages and punching entry tickets to a purportedly haunted public park - it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all but something altogether more meaningful. But when she finally discovers an alternative to the daily grind, it comes with a price.

This is the first time work by Kikuko Tsumura - winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award - and has been translated into English. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is as witty as it is unsettling - a jolting look at the maladies of late capitalist life through the unique and fascinating lens of modern Japanese culture.

©2021 Kikuko Tsumura (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Relatable

As someone currently suffering from burn out this book spoke to me in a comforting way. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also each new job has a mini anomaly going on which was fun. My favorite was the first surveillance job.

Cozy and off-beat

I loved this book. It was perfect for my mood at the moment. It’s great as an audio book because it’s several serialized mini-stories that all match a theme. The twists and unexpected and mysterious. I’d recommend to anyone looking for something comfy but a little different.

Good Vibes, Unusual Format, A Little Bit Bland

I just wanted to listen to something with a good narration voice and "clean" story. This pretty much hit the spot. 'There's No Such Thing as An Easy Job' is overall upbeat, and no vulgarities like insults or slurs are in it. Although it includes topics like smuggling, cults, and office gossip, nothing gets deep, dark, or upsetting. The story maintains intrigue by slowly introducing subtle, possibly supernatural mysteries for the main character to investigate, but most of the text is the main character's observations. The observations are often mundane, but they immerse you into the office job boredom. If you scrutinize the text, you can pick up on details about Japanese culture, but ultimately this is a story to relax not learn from. A lot of the story's mysteries are wrapped up too simply. The main character remains measured and peaceable throughout a continued barrage of similar workdays; it is an unusual depiction. The job roles for the side characters are unfortunately stereotyped by gender, but the characterization is relatively varied and realistic and therefore inoffensive.

A Marvelous Blend of Humor and Existential Reflection

What made this audiobook truly stand out was the seamless balance between Tsumura’s thought-provoking exploration of work life and Kay’s compelling voice acting. The way Kay brings life to the protagonist’s quiet moments of reflection, and the absurdity of her odd jobs, made the entire experience feel both intimate and profound. It’s rare to find an audiobook that captures the spirit of a story so well, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys slow-burning, introspective stories with a touch of humor and a focus on personal growth.

I LOVED it

I'm not surprised by the other two poor reviews, because this is definitely a book that will only suit a certain type of reader. But I'm not exaggerating when I said I LOVED it. I can see myself listening to this over and over again. I loved the descriptions of food, the seemingly mundane yet fascinating look into the narrator's life, the interesting jobs, and the peek into Japan. I really wanted it to keep going with even more jobs, and was disappointed when it ended. If you like books about loners where nothing much happens, yet somehow it stays with you, you will like this book. My other favorites are Strange Weather in Tokyo, The Talented Mr Ripley, Breasts and Eggs, The Price of Salt, Kitchen (Banana Yoshimoto), Housekeeping (Marilynne Robinson), and a lot of Haruki Murakami's work. If you like these works, you will probably enjoy this too.

Adventures in Overthinking

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura is a quietly clever and reassuring read for anyone who is struggling with burnout, focus, and self motivation. The book chronicles a woman’s experience with a series of "small jobs” after abandoning the career that she worked hard to achieve.

The book is insightful in a quiet, non judgemental way. It is a relief from the stress of modern life. The narration performance by Cindy Kay supports and enhances the work, making it funny, engaging, and accessible. It is easy to follow and to understand who is speaking at all times.

The translation by Polly Barton reflects some unusual choices. Colloquialisms from other cultures appear here and there. It is not clear whether these references were included in the original work or not. However, they are few and minor and so, while puzzling, they did not detract from the overall impact of the material.

I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with the challenges of staying the course amid all of the challenges and pressures of modern life. This book is like a cup of comforting, healing tea.

My favorite book I’ve read this year

Bought this on a whim when I thought the cover looked interesting and ended up enjoying it way more than I hoped! The surreal and occasionally slightly spooky mood of the story pulled me right along from one job to the next always curious what twist or oddity was going to be. The narration is great as well, she really seemed to get into the character and made the whole thing feel that much more engaging.

Cute and lighthearted

Easy read if you want something to play in the background, however it’s pretty easy to zone out. At times I’d realized I zoned out for 5 minutes and didn’t miss anything. Still a great book, and wonderful narration!

Good, but also lacking

What I enjoyed most about this book is the rather ordinary language used by the main character. Written in first person, we spend the entire book in her head and she approaches things in a mostly rational and curious manner, without extremes of emotion and without the use of slang or trying to be clever with her words. I was almost to the end of the book before I realized just how refreshing this is. I sometimes feel that contemporary authors try too hard to make characters cool or edgy. Here MC – we never know her name – comes across as an ordinary, caring human being, and I found her thoughts interesting, as she tends to look beneath of the surface of the everyday events she describes for us.

I didn't enjoy the structure of the book, which is a series of chapters, more like small novellas, linked only by the fact that they are jobs to which MC attaches herself for a period of time. Since she has a similar experience with each job, they feel a bit redundant after the first two – we know where we're going and what's going to happen when we get there. Although there was a realization for MC at the end, it felt anti-climactic, more like just a mechanism to tie things up, rather than the culmination of a book this long.

This was a good book but would have been better with some kind of over-arcing plot that provided more flow to the book and more insight into MC.

Good read

Enjoyed narration and the story line. Great read for a weekend to disconnect. Many unexpected adventures for the main character. Kept you wonder what she would experience next as story develops.