3.75 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC! This is a fun and quirky little collection, with flash fiction mixed in with fuller short stories. I don’t think I’ve ever read a piece of flash fiction and gone ‘yes, that was amazing’, and unfortunately this collection didn’t change that. However, I did like the longer stories AND the author’s notes at the end on each story did actually make me appreciate even the one liner stories more than I originally did.

There’s a lot of commentary around gender and sexism within this collection. I Hate The Girls You Like is a great example. Initially it seems to be internally misogynistic, but then it’s revealed to be a scathing critique of patriarchal beauty standards; the narrator wants the women to be free of men’s expectations of them. In the titular story, Matsuda explores violence against women both on screen and off. In others, the author pokes fun at unrealistic expectations of women’s purity, and in a flipped landscape, The Masculine Touch exposes how ridiculous gendered products/lifestyle stuff is.

A lot of the stories are pretty funny; not laugh out loud hilarious, but brought a smile to my face. And although I didn’t find it amazing, there was one piece of flash fiction which was a concise and brutal reminder of the capitalist hellscape we call modern life.

It’s clear from the author notes that Matsuda had a lot of fun writing this collection, and I love that for her.

Translated by Polly Barton.

This was such an odd and delightful collection of micro stories! Some of them were a single line, but most spanned just a few pages while managing to convey quite a bit. Aoko Matsuda utilized horror, absurdity, whimsy, and a tremendous amount of wit to make astute feminist observations.

Reading the flash fiction in The Woman Dies—with stories ranging from 12 pages to less than a sentence—is like walking through an artist’s gallery show. Aoko Matsuda’s stories are matter-of-fact, sometimes absurd, sometimes surreal. They coalesce around a modern feminism.

Her stories are often literal (see “Dissecting Misogyny”) but subversive in their deceptive simplicity. Amid the serious social critiques there is also a playfulness—with characters, with ideas, with metaphors—that keeps the art accessible, human, and real.

Finally, I love that Matsuda providers her “one-line commentaries” for each story, some of which are longer than the story!

“The Woman Dies” - Aoko Matsuda (translated from Japanese by Polly Barton)
The woman dies. She dies to provide a plot twist. She dies to develop the narrative. She dies for cathartic effect. She dies because no one could think of what else to do with her. Dies because there weren’t any better ideas around. Dies because her death was the very best story idea that anyone could come up with.
My thanks to @netgalley and @europaeditions for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is released 2nd September, so keep an eye out for it!
Book 12 of my #witmonth2025 and it’s my choice for Japan, a country which had quite a few options for me. My copy of Butter stays on the shelf for now…
“The Woman Dies” is a collection of short stories and flash fiction which all deal with aspects of discrimination, especially sexism, and often with a pop culture slant on them. The title story, which I took the quote from, focuses on the normalising effect on on-screen violence, how it can limit experiences and ripple down into society. It’s quite the gut punch, and a definite highlight.
I also really enjoyed some of the more satirical and absurdist pieces here. Particular favourites include “Bond”, where the ladies who have been seduced by the secret agent meet up to discuss his sexual prowess; “The Masculine Touch”, a satirical and acidic look at the ways women writers are positioned and marketed, but flipped on its head; and “Hawa’ii”, where a bunch of household items that have been Marie Kondoed find their paradise. All the stories feel quite simple, but several left me thinking for a while afterwards, which is a true compliment.
Very glad I read this, and I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this one. Keep an eye out for it when it’s released!

This was a delightful collection of short fictional stories that I really enjoyed. The stories covered topics from culture and socialism, misogyny and gender, and much more. I would love to read more from this author.

This was such a random collection of stories and thoughts. Billed as "flash fiction" - some stories were only a few sentences. I was interested in the more surreal sci-fi-leaning stories, but most of the stories, unfortunately, I did not understand the point of. I didn't feel any cohesion in the collection - not that there necessarily has to be cohesion, but most of this felt like answers to random writing prompts - "what would happen if xyz?" The stories only made sense after reading the brief descriptions of each story at the end of the book.

I don't know what type of reader I would recommend this to, to be honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

I enjoyed this. I like story collects as I can read one story a day and really absorbe the authors writing style. This had some really weird and twisted stories but I loved this.

A collection of 52 surreal and occasionally very short stories that explore gender, identity, and power. Told through different voices like ghosts, objects, and anonymous women, they flip the familiar upside down and play with how women are seen in society and fiction.

I really enjoyed this, the varying length of the stories really worked for me. Especially those less than half a page long. Short story collections can often become a drag, but these felt fresh and a lot more dynamic than usual. I really liked how they would jump around from serious to funny or sad.

Thank you NetGalley and Europa for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Things I liked:
As with any short story/vignette collection, some are going to be bigger hits than others. Many of the longer ones really drew me in to their worlds and I enjoyed them.
Because these are so short, this book is quick paced and easy to pick up, read a story or two, and set back down.
I liked that their was the author's one liners on the works, but wished they were immediately following the vignette. It was hard to go back and forth and match them up/remember them.

Things I disliked:
So many vignettes that were just a paragraph and barely said anything.
I don't feel like the theme I was expecting followed through this collection well enough.

Beautiful title, interesting description but this one was not for me. There were a couple of interesting stories here or there, but for the most part I was a bit lost with some of them. I appreciate what the author intended to address and the motif of technology as a device to comment the representation of women in media. It was a miss for me.

2.75*

Whilst I usually enjoy reading collections of short stories that explore a range of themes, 'The Woman Dies' fell slightly short for me. I liked some of the stories including the ones with more thought provoking themes but I because some of the stories were so short I couldn't get into it properly and would re-read what I'd read to try to understand it. I wished some of them were a bit longer as I thought the concepts were really interesting! Overall I think this wasn't for me personally but I can see why other people would really enjoy it. I would recommend 'The Woman Dies' to others and I will look at more of Aoko Matsuda's work in the future to explore their writing style further.

I actually love flash fiction but this could have done with being split into two collections instead of one. I often found it boring and exhausting to read, even though I would normally read a book or collection of this length in less than two days, this took me almost a week.
Some were really intriguing but I doubt I’ll remember them by tomorrow.

The Android whose Name was Boy 3.5/5
This was a good allegory around perception and expectation I thought.

Bond 1/5
…what

Starry Night 1/5
Shrug. Too vague for me

English Composition no. 1 2/5
…is that a power suit?

I Hate the Girls That You Like 1/5
#NLOG
(Why an Afro wig?)

Money 2/5
Interesting idea

You are Not What You Eat 3/5
Oh, no that’s not…

My Secret Thrill 4/5
You know what, I get it. The usual

God Must be Stupid 1/5
I don’t have a problem with cats I just found this boring

Thoughts on Balthus’s The Street
I dunno if this was meant to be blank but in the version I got on my kindle, it was just a title.

The National Anthem Gets it Bad 3/5
I wouldn’t sing it either tbh x

The Sky Blue Hand 2/5
Meh

The Precious Opportunity 4/5
I personally am not a lid licker so I found this somewhat enthralling.

The Woman Dies 3/5
This started off interesting and then lost my interest in the second half. Not a bad story I just preferred the first half.

How to Transform from a Punk into a Girl-Next-Door 2/5
Shrug

How to Transform from a Girl-Next-Door to a Bad Girl 2/5
Shrug

Victoria’s Secret 3.5/5
#NLOG but literally. Also I think we can all agree that The Beast was much better looking pre transformation.

The Year of No Wildflowers 1/5
I strongly dislike second person narratives. On top of that, this was boring.

Murder in the Cat Cafe 2/5
…wut

Toshiba Mellow #2018 3/5
Decent. Interesting enough concept

The Purest Woman in the Kingdom 5/5
The last sentence took me out 😂

English Composition no 2 1/5
This has the same structure as a number of these other stories just with some words switched out.

Dear Doctor Spencer Reid 1/5
Shrugs.

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates 2/5
Eh.

Braids 3/5
This was ok

Messing Up the National Anthem
I dunno where this story was in my copy but it wasn’t after ‘Braids’

Dissecting Misogyny 3/5
Yeah this was aiite. Interesting concep.

Cage in a Cage 2/5
Ok

English Composition no 3 1/5
I don’t like these ones

The Masculine Touch 4/5
Ok yeah this one made me chuckle a few times. Really makes you realise how ridiculous this behaviour is

Gaban I 1/5
I don’t get it x

Gaban II 1/5
I still don’t get it x

To You, Sleeping in an Armory 2/5
Shrugs

C.V. 3/5
This was aiite. A bit paint by numbers in its point making.

Baseball Player Soup 3/5
Another ok one

Curtain of Celebration 2/5
Meh

Remembering Technology 3/5
Kind of interesting though another paint by numbers receptive style of writing.

Bird Strike! 1/5
Looking forward to this collection being over

The National Anthem Goes to New York 1/5
The national anthem is getting a lot of airtime in this book

Flora 2/5
Ok

Twenty First Century Tinkerbell 2/5
I don’t get it.

The Start of the Weekend 3/5
I can’t count so I just nodded through this

Reflection 1/5
Dunno what you want me to say tbh

When the Girl Broke up With her Boyfriend 2/5
I’m bored of this style. There are so many stories in here that follow this same template.

A Father and His Back 3/5
I probably would have liked this more if it was earlier in the collection.

Youth and Sadness 3/5
This one had a nice melancholy to it.

Bette Davis 3/5
Weird and I’m here for it

The Lip Balm Lake 3/5
Simple but I get it.

The Death of Context 3/5
Also simple but I get it

A Magic Spell 2/5
Ok then

Aoko Matsuda’s One Line Commentaries
I actually love this section. It gives some nice context to the stories. I wish it was at the start of the book instead of the end.

First published in 2019, Aoko Matsuda’s collection is inventive and thought-provoking, sometimes subversive, sometimes deliberately playful, now and then almost wilfully self-indulgent. There are over fifty stories here which may sound daunting – her book’s definitely one for dipping into rather than reading through from cover to cover. However, a number of these pieces are palm-of-the-hand (tenohira no shōsetsu), variations on the miniature form made famous by Yasunari Kawabata - with a similar emphasis on atmosphere or provoking an emotional reaction. Although entries like “The Android Whose Name Was Boy” Matsuda’s amusing take on masculinity and destiny reminded me more of Shin’ichi Hoshi’s ultra-compressed SF.

Like Where the Wild Ladies Are many of Matsuda’s stories combine irony with absurdist elements as in “Bond” where a group of so-called ‘Bond girls’ gather together to rate the secret agent’s sexual abilities. Matsuda often draws directly on personal preoccupations, things she finds arresting or unexpectedly fascinating – she’s included a brief overview of the influences and inspirations behind most of the stories. References to film, art and popular culture are plentiful: “Dissecting Misogyny” is informed by Big Boo in Orange is the New Black; a series of pieces dealing with girlhood, fandom and desire are connected by a shared focus on Criminal Minds’ Dr Spencer Reid; others like the uncanny, fable-like “Starry Night,” build on Matsuda’s own responses to specific artworks.

Matsuda blends the outwardly intimate with broader social and cultural commentary. Misogyny and gender-related constrictions continue to be pressing concerns. Matsuda’s award-winning title story is a stirring exploration of the stereotypes and narratives which both frame and limit women’s experiences; while “The Masculine Touch” is a striking, satirical exploration of the positioning of women writers. Capitalism and the relationship between individuals and the world of things are also key issues for Matsuda: identity and promotional culture loom large in the slightly surreal “The Precious Touch” in which a woman’s exposed to unnerving messages concealed inside yoghurt pots; “The Lip Balm Lake” is an unusual look at how consumption punctuates everyday life. I especially enjoyed “Hawai’i,” told from the perspective of a woman’s discarded possessions it’s a marvellous send-up of Marie Kondo’s concept of only keeping objects that spark joy. Matsuda’s general approach is deceptively simple, her distinctive brand of fiction’s carefully crafted yet frequently feels immediate and spontaneous. I love her willingness to experiment; and I’m impressed by her ability to tackle weighty subjects yet render them accessible and entertaining. Translated by Polly Barton.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
I only got through three of the vignettes before deciding I couldn’t continue. I may try to come back to this in the future, as it proves to be a quick read, but I currently cannot find enjoyment in the short stories I’ve read. While the stories are somewhat thought-provoking, the surrealism and apparent lack of direction prevented me from wanting to continue. I’m sure there’s a deeper satire to be found in these pages, but as I felt rather bored, I don’t plan to seek it out anytime soon.

As it stands, I’d probably give this a 1.5 star rating, if only for the hope that there would be something more compelling to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europa Editions for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rating (currently): 1.5 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: July 27, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9e0ca0a5-2a11-4691-b83d-a68cc8f68844)

Matsuda

I really loved this, hard hitting with gut wrenching honesty & really funny as well! These small slices of life, vignettes of fantasy, snippets of surrealist realities, anxiety daydreams & feminist connections take you into the abyss and to the moon while crying laughing.

From Immortal Cats to Princes, bodily functions, gender liberation and a yoghurt pot lid that wont let me forget it.

This book made me feel free and seen; with all the darkness & weird things everyone goes through we're all just trying to find some understanding and be understood and Aoko Matsuda makes you feel a little less lonely and more stable on this uneven earth.

Now to find & read everything else she's written!

Thanks to netgalley & europa editions for the eARC

What a fabulous read! I was loving the change in themes from ‘The Masculine Touch’ (imagine this was a reality…) the Bond Girls get together and the sweater that hadn’t been worn for 3 years and got to choose its paradise. The variety was vast.

It was so good. I loved the imagination and at the back of the book the author explains how she came up with each of the stories.

Brilliant short stories that will expand the realms of your imagination.

This would be perfect for someone who reads infrequently and loves intresting and twisted stories! I thought it was great that at the end the author put when they wrote each story as it gave context! I rarely see this and have us a good insight

The Woman Dies, by Aoko Matsuda and translated by Polly Barton, is a collection of short stories and microfiction that will both entertain you while giving you something to think about.

The book descriptions I have seen mention the feminist angle or the social critique of Japanese culture specifically. They aren't wrong but that is far too narrow of a description. These stories speak to society and culture around the globe primarily because they put the human element front and center. These certainly aren't detailed character studies but you learn enough about each character, and their situation, to relate to them. Even the more surreal environments still address the human in the middle (or margin) of it.

I've seen some reviewers mention their favorites, and I thought about doing that, but I would end up listing half the stories or more. Some are more serious, some less, some disturbing while some make you just nod and think "I would be that person." With so many stories that touch so many emotions, my favorite this minute may well not be my favorite next minute. So I will just say that most readers will likely come away with many favorites. I will say I was quite intrigued with the one told from within a van Gogh painting.

Highly recommended for fans of short fiction as well as those who like stories that look at society's shortcomings and shed some light on them.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europa Editions for a copy of this arc, all opinions my own.

I really liked these interesting short stories, although I didn't actually realize this wasn't a novel until I started reading. As with any short story book there are always stories that I liked more than others.

I enjoyed Matsuda's writing and will read more from them.

‘The woman dies’ is a collection of well written, unique short stories, covering a range of themes and social issues throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed ‘God must be stupid’, as I to believe cats should be ‘indestructible’ and their ‘coats should remain eternally soft and fluffy’. Others that caught my attention the most, were dissecting misogyny, the year of no flowers and hawai’i.

The only downside was some of the stories did fall short for me, which I find with many short story collections. However, the book overall was a great read, and I will be reading more by this author.