there's no such thing as an easy job (kikuko tsumura): a review

 There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job (a review)

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

I bought There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job without having read it because my bookstore had neither of the two books I intended to buy, and I was not about to have gone to the bookstore for nothing. This was a gamble, but I would say it paid off because I liked this book a lot, and I could see myself rereading it in a year. I could also see this being the beginning of a book-buying addiction. Actually, I could not. Buying books still terrifies me.

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job follows our unnamed protagonist, a thirty-something woman who has burned out at her last job, as she works a series of weird, borderline surreal jobs that her recruiting agent told her would be easy. You will know if you have read the title that there is actually no such thing as an easy job.

This book is so good and so well written. Not a ton happens, and most of the plot events are pretty mundane, but the writing is so compelling that I was still invested and wanted to keep reading. I especially liked the protagonist's internal monologue. She is a cool person and a pleasant narrator. She is also vaguely flustered all the time, and I thought that was pretty fun.

I read this book as a criticism of how capitalism ties your value to your productivity and how, therefore, a "good worker" in a capitalistic society will have a difficult time finding enjoyment in their occupation because the pressure to be productive becomes too high. As someone who dislikes her job for completely different reasons, I still related to this struggle. I also related to the part where the protagonist learned of a discount at a store on a certain type of sausage, but when she tried to buy said sausage, the store was all out. This is similar to the time I tried to buy two books at the bookstore but they had neither. And instead I bought this book. I did not really find this plot point cathartic, but I appreciated my plight being represented.

I would not recommend There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job to everyone because it is a very certain type of book, and not everyone likes this certain type of book. If you generally prefer books that have in them adventure, excitement, and really wild times, this may not be the book for you. If, however, you have read a book that was fairly boring in terms of the plot, except the writing made it interesting, you may enjoy There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job.