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Kikuko Tsumura: There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job (Paperback, 2021, Bloomsbury Publishing) 4 stars

A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the …

Review of "There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm on a mission to DNF or read the oldest books on my TBR - meaning the books that have been on my TBR the longest. I've DNFed a couple, and maybe should've DNFed this one, but it was okay in the end.

I found the first half more engaging than the second half, I think because the "point" such as it is had been made. You follow a nameless young woman who has just quit her job after suffering intense burnout. She tries out four new jobs over the course of this book, all supposedly "easy." Each one becomes more than she bargained for, either because of the work itself or her own attitude toward the work. It's clear she struggles not to get too invested, no matter how simple the job seems on the surface.

If the book had upped the pace, I'd have given it 4 stars. But each job drags out a bit too long. I didn't mind the very mild dramas of each place - I was entertained by how silly it all was. I waffled on DNFing because of this. I liked and disliked aspects of the story throughout.

I enjoyed the themes of burnout and work/life balance. But the book never delves too deep into any of it, so it felt a little blah in the end.