‘There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job’ Explores How Work Defines Our Lives

I never imagined reading about odd jobs would be so fascinating

Image created by editor on Canva. Cover courtesy of Amazon.

Every year, with varying degrees of success, I try to take on a reading challenge with the intention of diversifying my reading life.

This year, I’ve once again decided to attempt the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, a list of tasks intended to get you off your beaten path, picking up titles you normally wouldn’t.

One such task, “read a non-European book in translation,” brought me to Kikuko Tsumura’s There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job.

When the book arrived on my doorstep and I unboxed it to find a 400-page paperback staring at me, I wondered if I could even finish such a book.

In my mind, for some reason, the phrase “book in translation” had been tangled up with early semesters at college pursuing my literature degree. Memories of Gilgamesh and middle English stanzas of The Canterbury Tales caused me to brace for a slog of a book.

What I encountered, however, was anything but boring.

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