5 must-read magical realism books like There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

Cover of There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

By: Kikuko Tsumura

3.60

Format: 416 pages, Paperback

Convenience Store Woman meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this strange, compelling, darkly fu…

"Although I was also aware that in a workplace context, people could become bad sorts as and when the situation required, so maybe it was more accurate to say he wasn't always a bad sort."

-Kikuko Tsumura, There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

"Although I was also aware that in a workplace context, people could become bad sorts as and when the situation required, so maybe it was more accurate to say he wasn't always a bad sort."

-Kikuko Tsumura, There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

If you liked the magical realism plot in There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura , here is a list of 5 books like this:

Cover of Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, Louise Heal Kawai

1. Ms Ice Sandwich

By: Mieko Kawakami , Louise Heal Kawai

3.78

Format: 92 pages, Paperback

A quixotic and funny tale about first love – from the Akutagawa Prize-winning author. Ms Ice San… read more

Similar categories in Mieko Kawakami's Ms Ice Sandwich book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
Cover of The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell

2. The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel

By: Hiromi Kawakami , Allison Markin Powell

3.74

Format: 336 pages,

From the author of Strange Weather in Tokyo comes this funny, heartwarming story about love, life, … read more

Similar categories in Hiromi Kawakami's The Nakano Thrift Shop: A Novel book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • asia
  • fiction
  • japanese literature
  • asian literature
  • contemporary
  • japan
Cover of Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, Alison  Watts

3. Sweet Bean Paste

By: Durian Sukegawa , Alison Watts

3.95

Format: None pages, Paperback

Sentaro has failed: he has a criminal record, drinks too much, and hasn't managed to fulfil his dre… read more

Similar categories in Durian Sukegawa's Sweet Bean Paste book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • asian literature
  • fiction
  • contemporary

4. Strange Weather in Tokyo

By: Hiromi Kawakami

4.29

Format: None pages, Paperback

Tsukiko is drinking alone in her local sake bar when by chance she meets one of her old high school… read more

Similar categories in Hiromi Kawakami's Strange Weather in Tokyo book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

Cover of Idol, Burning by Rin Usami

5. Idol, Burning

By: Rin Usami

3.23

Format: 144 pages, Hardcover

The novel that lit the Japanese publishing world on fire: From a breathtaking up-and-coming writer,… read more

Similar categories in Rin Usami's Idol, Burning book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • audiobook
"His existence and my witnessing of it were all I asked for."

-Rin Usami, Idol, Burning

"Maybe that was how a home broke down over the years, as the sound of doors slamming and chairs roughly scraping the floor built up like dust, and the slow drip of gnashing teeth and resentful grumbli…"

-Rin Usami, Idol, Burning

"Idol groups generally assigned each member an official color, which would be used for the light sticks that fans would hold up to show your support at a performance or for other individual merch. My …"

-Rin Usami, Idol, Burning

Cover of All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

6. All the Lovers in the Night

By: Mieko Kawakami

3.72

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirties. Working and living alone in a city wher… read more

Similar categories in Mieko Kawakami's All the Lovers in the Night book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • audiobook
"It only took me a couple of hours to realise that she was a woman of talents beyond anything I could imagine - even though I was a stranger to such talents myself."

-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night

"The light at night is special because the overwhelming light of day has left us, and the remaining half draws on everything it has to keep the world around us bright."

-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night

"When I felt sleepy I slept, and when I opened my eyes I got up, letting hunger dictate when to head to the fridge or kitchen cabinet to eat some of the things that I'd stocked up on. When supplies ra…"

-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night

"When I felt sleepy I slept, and when I opened my eyes I got up, letting hunger dictate when to head to the fridge or kitchen cabinet to eat some of the things that I'd stocked up on. When supplies ra…"

-Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night

Cover of Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

7. Earthlings

By: Sayaka Murata

3.60

Format: 247 pages, Hardcover

Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witc… read more

Similar categories in Sayaka Murata's Earthlings book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • magical realism
  • japanese literature
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • japan
  • audiobook
"Sobreviver, haja o que houver."

-Sayaka Murata, Earthlings

"O senso comum é uma doença contagiosa e é difícil manter a infecção sozinho."

-Sayaka Murata, Earthlings

"I thought that when I grew up society would brainwash me, but it didn't work."

-Sayaka Murata, Earthlings

"Até quando eu teria de sobreviver? Será que algum dia poderia apenas viver e não sobreviver?"

-Sayaka Murata, Earthlings

Cover of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

8. Convenience Store Woman

By: Sayaka Murata

3.69

Format: 163 pages, Hardcover

The English-language debut of one of Japan's most talented contemporary writers, selling over 650,0… read more

Similar categories in Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • audiobook
"A convenience store is a world of sound."

-Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

"People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren't on trial, you know."

-Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

"Anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering."

-Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

"Well, I guess anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering."

-Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

Cover of Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

9. Lonely Castle in the Mirror

By: Mizuki Tsujimura

4.27

Format: 355 pages, Hardcover

Seven students are avoiding going to school, hiding in their darkened bedrooms, unable to face thei… read more

Similar categories in Mizuki Tsujimura's Lonely Castle in the Mirror book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • magical realism
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
"In another world, we were already friends."

-Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror

"You're battling every single day, aren't you?"

-Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror

"Her mother always said this. That no matter how disgusted you might be with a friend, you should never speak ill of them."

-Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror

"Houses just like the one she lived in; tall condos, apartment buildings that looked, from where she stood, like matchboxes. In the distance, she could catch the lights flickering in the supermarket. …"

-Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Cover of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1) by Satoshi Yagisawa

10. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)

By: Satoshi Yagisawa

3.65

Format: 150 pages, Paperback

The moving international sensation about new beginnings, human connection, and the joy of reading. … read more

Similar categories in Satoshi Yagisawa's Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1) book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • japanese literature
  • fiction
  • asian literature
  • contemporary
  • japan
  • audiobook
"It hurts to realize that it might be too late now for anything but regret."

-Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)

"And here I am spending a sleepless night in a strange place. We might not be far from home, but I feel lonely."

-Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)

"In my dream, I was an android maid living in a city in the not-so- distant future. In that neighbourhood, all the buildings were made of used books."

-Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)

"No es cuestión de ser expertos o novatos. Si lo plantea así, ni siquiera yo lo soy tanto. Lo importante es sentir emociones al toparse con un libro."

-Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #1)

Cover of Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

11. Life Ceremony

By: Sayaka Murata

3.75

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stori… read more

Similar categories in Sayaka Murata's Life Ceremony book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
"Nowadays, your partner is not necessarily a sex object - this is a wonderful advancement."

-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony

"I'm seeking an amicable daily routine with someone I get along well with, like brother and sister, without being a slave to sex"

-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony

"Walking like this, feeling like a feral human, even machines and buildings were warm to the touch, and some emitted sounds and vibrations. Their presence was similar to the sounds emitted by life-for…"

-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony

"If they tried it, the memories of the wild rooted in their flesh would come back to them, and they would discover that eating the city like this would connect the earth between the gaps in the concre…"

-Sayaka Murata, Life Ceremony

Cover of Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

12. Breasts and Eggs

By: Mieko Kawakami

3.86

Format: 430 pages, Hardcover

Challenging every preconception about storytelling and prose style, mixing wry humor and riveting e… read more

Similar categories in Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • novels
  • japanese literature
  • fiction
  • asian literature
  • contemporary
  • japan
  • audiobook
"Then there are the real bastards, like my ex,"

-Mieko Kawakami, Breasts and Eggs

"Mi sentivo come un essere privato della carne e della pelle e ridotto a sole ossa. Un carapace enorme completamente cavo."

-Mieko Kawakami, Breasts and Eggs

"We could worry about tomorrow when it came. What mattered most right now is how we would spend the remainder of today, even if it was half over."

-Mieko Kawakami, Breasts and Eggs

"I could see people all around me, but I almost felt like nobody could see me. I heard a train go by, rumbling down the tracks, drawing a thick line between the world and my experience. I was getting …"

-Mieko Kawakami, Breasts and Eggs

Cover of Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

13. Heaven

By: Mieko Kawakami

3.80

Format: 192 pages, Hardcover

Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a 14-y… read more

Similar categories in Mieko Kawakami's Heaven book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • novels
  • japanese literature
  • fiction
  • asian literature
  • contemporary
  • japan
  • audiobook
"Karena kau selalu dilukai, kau sungguh-sungguh memahami seperti apakah orang terluka."

-Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

"The more I looked at it, the less it seemed like something for a house. More like a tiny gravestone."

-Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

"You think about how other people feel. You're so kind. It makes sense. Because we're always in pain, we know exactly what it means to hurt somebody else."

-Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

"People are always dying. It's a perfect truth. No matter how we live our lives, we all die, sooner or later. In which case, living is really just waiting to die."

-Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

Cover of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

14. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

By: Hwang Bo-Reum

4.02

Format: 307 pages, Hardcover

Yeongju is burned out. With her high-­flying career, demanding marriage, and busy life in Seoul, sh… read more

Similar categories in Hwang Bo-Reum's Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • audiobook
"Why? Because we only get one shot in life, and we're living it now."

-Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

"A life surrounded by good people is a successful life. It might not be success as defined by society, but thanks to the people around you, each day is a successful day."

-Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

"A life surrounded by good people is a successful life. It might not be success as defined by society, but thanks to the people around you, each day is a successful day'."

-Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

"A life surrounded by good people is a successful life. It might not be a success as defined by society, but thanks to the people around you, each day is a successful day."

-Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

Cover of The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

15. The Woman in the Purple Skirt

By: Natsuko Imamura

3.28

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

A bestselling, prizewinning novel of obsession and psychological intrigue about two enigmatic unmar… read more

Similar categories in Natsuko Imamura's The Woman in the Purple Skirt book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • audiobook
Cover of The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1) by Hisashi Kashiwai

16. The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

By: Hisashi Kashiwai

3.70

Format: 201 pages, Hardcover

The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series f… read more

Similar categories in Hisashi Kashiwai's The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1) book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • asian literature
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • audiobook
"Ah, Setchubai. "Plum Blossoms in the Snow." Perfect, and not just because of the name. It's a little sweet, but it'll go very well with the hotpot."

-Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

"We get used to things too easily. You think something's tasty the first time you eat it, but then you start taking it for granted. Never forget your first impressions."

-Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

"It's Swatow lace, I believe-- beautiful, isn't it? The design is titled "The Disc of the Moon"-- apparently it was inspired by the poem "Midnight Song" by the Tang-era poet Li Bai. I looked it up, an…"

-Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

"Miyajima oysters, simmered Kurama-style, miso-glazed baked butterburs with millet cake, bracken and bamboo shoot stew, chargrilled moroko, breast of Kyoto-reared chicken with a wasabi dressing, and v…"

-Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1)

Cover of Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

17. Diary of a Void

By: Emi Yagi

3.51

Format: 213 pages, Hardcover

A prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about a woman in Japan who avoids harassment at … read more

Similar categories in Emi Yagi's Diary of a Void book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • novels
  • japan
  • audiobook
"Having a baby isn't easy. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's been two thousand years, and it's the same old story, right?"

-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void

"I'm always so alone. I guess I should be used to it by now. That's the way it is from the moment we come into this world, but I'm still not used to it - how alone we all are."

-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void

"Maybe that's making a family is all about: creating an environment in which people make space for one another - maybe without even trying, just naturally, to make sure that nobody's forgotten."

-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void

"Until they arrived, while everyone else was transitioning to winter, putting on coats and sweaters, I was going to stick with my summer dress and my usual work blazer. Dressed in the dazzling flowers…"

-Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void

Cover of There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

18. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

By: Kikuko Tsumura

3.60

Format: 416 pages, Paperback

Convenience Store Woman meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this strange, compelling, darkly fu… read more

Similar categories in Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • magical realism
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • novels
  • japan
  • audiobook
"Although I was also aware that in a workplace context, people could become bad sorts as and when the situation required, so maybe it was more accurate to say he wasn't always a bad sort."

-Kikuko Tsumura, There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

Cover of Butter by Asako Yuzuki

19. Butter

By: Asako Yuzuki

3.60

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist inten… read more

Similar categories in Asako Yuzuki's Butter book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • japanese literature
  • japan
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • audiobook
"Dessert was home-made candied chestnuts, chiffon cake baked with amazake and rice flour, and cups of gingery chai. Biting into the cake, Rika discovered that it was perfectly fluffy, with a pleasing …"

-Asako Yuzuki, Butter

"Soon after, Rika heard the sizzle of butter melting in a hot frying pan. It smelt to her like life itself. Maybe because it was animal fat, there was rough, raw depth and fragrance to its smell, whic…"

-Asako Yuzuki, Butter

"Milk was originally blood. In that case, was the butter in the Babaji story actually a metaphor for all the carnage that took place under the cover of the jungle? What seemed pure, white and creamy h…"

-Asako Yuzuki, Butter

"The whipped butter had already started melting across the waffles' latticed brown surface, creating a golden trickling waterfall that pooled in their hollows. Rika bit into the dough, savoring how ju…"

-Asako Yuzuki, Butter

Cover of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

20. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

By: Michiko Aoyama

4.09

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel show… read more

Similar categories in Michiko Aoyama's What You Are Looking For Is in the Library book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • magical realism
  • japanese literature
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • japan
  • audiobook
Cover of People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami

21. People From My Neighbourhood

By: Hiromi Kawakami

3.53

Format: 121 pages, Paperback

From the author of the internationally bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo, a collection of interl… read more

Similar categories in Hiromi Kawakami's People From My Neighbourhood book and Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

  • literary fiction
  • magical realism
  • asia
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • asian literature
  • japanese literature
  • japan
"Even the smallest hole is enough to send a balloon spiraling to the ground. The falsification of memory is like that. All it takes is one individual who remembers the truth, said Romi, for the whole …"

-Hiromi Kawakami, People From My Neighbourhood

14 must-read audiobook books like There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

Transform Your Habits

Idol, Burning

Rin Usami

3.23

Transform Your Habits

All the Lovers in the Night

Mieko Kawakami

3.72

Transform Your Habits

Earthlings

Sayaka Murata

3.60

Transform Your Habits

Convenience Store Woman

Sayaka Murata

3.69

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19 Top fiction books like Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

Transform Your Habits

A Short Stay in Hell

Steven L. Peck

4.22

Transform Your Habits

I Who Have Never Known Men

Ros Schwartz , Jacqueline Harpman

4.22

Transform Your Habits

Tender Is the Flesh

Agustina Bazterrica

3.79

Transform Your Habits

Rouge

Mona Awad

3.56

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