May You Have Delicious Meals

<p><b>Winner of the Akutagawa Prize</b></p><p> So bracing so strange and humane... I loved it. -- <i>Sharlene Teo</i> author of <i>Ponti</i> Funny... All the people in this novel are alive. -- <i>Hiromi Kawakami</i> author of <i>Strange Weather in Tokyo</i> Witty and sharp... I devoured it. -- <i>Natalie Sue</i> bestselling author of <i>I Hope This Finds You Well</i> A slim but impactful novel that will make you laugh and think. -- <i>Dazed</i></p><p> The power dynamics of the office are never more apparent than when it comes to food: the forced lunches with the boss the colleague who curries favor with home-baked sweets the late-night leftovers that reveal someone's private cravings. </p><p> In a small office in Saitama Ashikawa is the kind of woman Nitani expects he'll marry -- kind accommodating and eager to wean him off his addiction to instant noodles. But he finds it hard to respect her or the sugary confections she uses to win over their colleagues. </p><p> Oshio his uninhibited drinking companion is the opposite -- bold irreverent and unafraid to challenge the rigid expectations that define their workplace. As the two outsiders grow closer they begin to test the limits of conformity and rebellion indulgence and restraint and the thin line between connection and isolation. </p><p> Darkly funny quietly subversive and deeply human <i>[Title]</i> captures the absurdities of modern work life -- and the small acts of defiance that make it bearable. </p>