The Woman Dies

Tales from Japan that blend humor, surrealism, and sharp societal critique, by the acclaimed author of Where the Wild Ladies Are

"Piercing and sometimes surreal... Matsuda shines."--Publishers Weekly

In The Woman Dies, renowned author Aoko Matsuda approaches often-thorny subjects such as sexism, prejudice, the normalizing effect of violence against women on screen, or the aesthetics associated with technology, with an inventiveness and quirky humor that keep these stories on the thrilling cusp between seriousness and levity.

Wordplay evolves into something much more complex, inanimate objects are endowed with their own point of view, and hard-hitting feminist stances are conveyed with a dry, detached humor that makes them even more undeniable.

Not so much a rollercoaster ride, rather an entire theme park, The Woman Dies is an out-of-the ordinary space readers will step into with feelings of wonder and discombobulation in equal parts.

Author: Aoko Matsuda
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: 09/02/2025
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.4lbs
Size: 8.11h x 5.12w x 0.87d
ISBN: 9798889661337


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/21/2025
Booklist 08/01/2025

About the Author
Matsuda, Aoko: -

Aoko Matsuda is a writer and 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," published by Granta online, was shortlisted for a Shirley Jackson Award. In 2021, her short story collection Where the Wild Ladies Are, published by Soft Skull Press, was highly praised by the BBC, Guardian, New York Times, and New Yorker, and was selected as one of the 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020 by TIME. It was nominated for a 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 in 2021. She has translated work by Karen Russell, Amelia Gray, and Carmen Maria Machado into Japanese.

Barton, Polly: -

Polly Barton is a translator of Japanese literature and non-fiction, currently based in Bristol. Her most recent full-length translations include the international bestseller Butter by Asako Yuzuki and Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki (Pushkin Press). She has translated Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda for Tilted Axis/Soft Skull Press. Her debut non-fiction work, Fifty Sounds, was published in the US by Liveright in April 2022.