Overview

FEMINIST TALES FROM JAPAN BY THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF WHERE THE WILD LADIES ARE Piercing, inventive, and darkly humorous, the fifty-two stories in Aoko Matsuda’s The Woman Dies explore the persistent and pervasive sexism faced by women in modern-day Japan. The normalization of violence against women on screen and in the media is confronted in the story ‘The Woman Dies’, while others invest inanimate objects with their own perspectives, examine the aesthetics of technology, and use clever wordplay to riff off the absurdity of contemporary life. Masterfully translated by Polly Barton, the translator of Asako Yuzuki’s Butter, The Woman Dies is more than a simple thrill ride. Blending humour, surrealism, and sharp social critique, it’s a vast, multifaceted theme park of ideas by one of Japan’s most exciting writers.  Praise for Where the Wild Ladies Are, a Time magazine Best Book of 2022 “Delightfully uncanny… Matsuda’s retellings are feminist with a vengeance.” —New York Times Book Review  “Funny, beautiful, surreal and relatable, this is a phenomenal book.” —The Guardian  “Softly electrifying.” —The Atlantic “Delightful, sharp, poignant.” —Literary Hub

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9781787706736

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Reviews

“A wickedly entertaining collection, bold and confident, full of smart insights that fully reflect women's lives. Aoko Matsuda has a fantastic handle on her form - these stories are short, dazzling, intense, provoking admiration and awe, very fresh and contemporary. Each one snaps and sparkles with humour and cunning.” * Bidisha Mamata, author of Asylum & Exile * “Provocative and timely... In an acutely poised translation by Polly Barton... the prevalent sexist culture of contemporary Japan is skewered, riffed on and finally lanced with perfect timing and ingenuity.” * Irish Times * “Matsuda shines with her distinctive imagery and focused commentary. Readers will find plenty to enjoy.” * Publishers Weekly * “Aoko Matsuda uses her signature sharp wit and surreal, abstract worldbuilding to draw attention to a diverse array of themes in this collection: an author for fans of Emi Yagi and Banana Yoshimoto.” * Buzz Magazine * “A haunting collection of twisty, turny stories…. Wonderfully surreal and dark.” * BookRiot * “Award-winning Matsuda reunites with adept translator Barton for another stupendous collection.” * Booklist (starred review) * “Each of Matsuda’s small but sparkling stories responds to various aspects of pop culture in clever and surprising ways.” * Contemporary Japanese Literature * “The Woman Dies blends humour, surrealism and sharp social critique….a multifaceted mosaic of ideas by one of Japan’s most exciting writers.” * BookBlast * ""There's a lot to enjoy here, including the usual excellent work from Barton....clever, often thought-provoking stories and vignettes."" * Tony's Reading List * Praise for Where the Wild Ladies Are ""Funny, beautiful, surreal and relatable, this is a phenomenal book.""—The Guardian ""Delightfully uncanny.""—New York Times

Author Information

Aoko Matsuda is an award-winning Japanese writer and literary translator. In 2013, her debut book, Stackable, was nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize and the Noma Literary New Face Prize. In 2019, her short story “The Woman Dies,” was shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award. In 2021, Her short story collection Where the Wild Ladies Are, published by Tilted Axis Press, was nominated for the Ray Bradbury Prize sponsored by the LA Times, and won the Firecracker Award in the fiction category and the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection. This collection was also named by TIME and The New Yorker as one of the Best Fiction Books of 2020. She has translated work by Karen Russell, Amelia Gray and Carmen Maria Machado into Japanese.  Polly Barton is a translator of Japanese literature and non-fiction, currently based in Bristol. Her most recent full-length translations include Butter by Asako Yuzuki, Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki, Where the Wild Ladies Are by Matsuda Aoko, and Kikuko Tsumura’s novel There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job. Her debut non-fiction work, Fifty Sounds, was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.

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