A book that reflects on the changing work culture in Japan through a main character who absolutely refuses overtime. All of the characters are stereotypes of people in the Japanese work culture; thus they are simple cardboard cutout characters, but they serve their purpose well; to make the reader think about whether they really need to live and die at work.
Definitely not a book that will pass the test of time, but was an enjoyable and quick read.
ในเรื่องตอนสุดท้าย แอบสะดุดนิดหน่อยตรงที่บทกับการดำเนินเรื่องมันดูจริงยังกับติดกล้องแอบดูบริษัทญี่ปุ่นแนว Black Company ที่มีหัวหน้าเฮงซวยกับบรรดาพนักงานผู้ไม่มีสติสักที่มาตลอดตั้งแต่บทแรก แต่พอมาถึงตอนจบกลับดูเหมือนละครทีวี คือมันสวยงามเหมาะเจาะน้ำเน่าเกินไป
3.5/5 Not sure if some of the supposedly revolutionary revelations concerning work ethics might hit harder if I had been raised with a Japanese mindset about work, but so most of the stuff just felt like common sense. The take away is that we ALL have to work for a better, overtime free work environment, which I guess is true. As another positive: I really liked the main character a lot!
Whew, I found this book in a city library while I was in Korea, and I thought whoa, the main character is just like me! She wants to leave work exactly on time and not a minute after! She doesn't care what other people think, work life balance is the most important thing! Finally, Someone who's raised in a country with crazy work ethics but refuses to go along with the pressures of society!
And then the rest of the book is just about tiring coworkers + 꼰대 상사s pressuring her into becoming like them. Exhausting people!!! I do not want to read about petty office politics and drama and gossip and mind games because I have to experience that irl!! And. Then she just goes on and works overtime to deliver for a terribly scoped project :(
And the final satisfying 'blow' that changes the company culture for the better is.... Her playing golf with the CEO to get a favor from him (unrealistic for anyone to really try out if they're in this situation), making the insane/toxic boss QUIT by appealing to his humanity (but also making him shittalk a colleague and have him walk in on him to turn him against him), getting a seasoned upper level worker (who is diabetic but she keeps him on her leash by giving him sugar sticks) to help out, working overtime on the weekend, getting everyone on the team to do the same (but lol, she's better than the other insane boss bc she lets people have real meals at restaurants and take nap breaks), and her taking on work to perform a PETTY revenge against her former fiance, by planning to pass out on him. So that he can feel what she felt when he fell asleep on her before their meet & greet with their families. Oh my God. Tiring people!!! 복수한다고 아픈척하고 쓰러져서 자기가 겪었던 감정을 고대로 돌려준다는게... 정말 피곤한 사람 아니면 안 할 행동인거 같은데... 공감 하는 사람들이 많은거 보면 진짜 일본인들은 이러고 산단 말인건지 모르겠는데 진짜 극혐... Also I would simply not try to fix that man because I'm engaged to another person and would love to keep my own peace, but whatever, I guess.
The ending was kinda weird too because conveniently, after she made her ex-fiance see the errors of his former ways (by almost dying in front of him on purpose, but harder than she intended), her new fiance is sleeping with another unknown woman wearing ballet flats (weird detail to signal that whoa, someone more feminine than Her) because obviously it's her fault for never coming home these past few weeks. Men are obviously going to HAVE to sleep with another woman if heir fiancee doesn't come home from work, duh! Like wtf is this shit 😭
Another day another affirmation that-my God-I'm doing a good thing not living in Korea bc I can't believe this is the norm! Petty coworkers who are starting rumors and making scenes because they want to stay at work and you don't, weird people getting everyone to hate you because you're "selfish" and "insane" for wanting to not work past the 9-5 (who am I kidding, 8-6), people pressuring you to Die at the office, etc. etc. Exhausting people who care too much about what others think because going against the grain = 잘난척 하는 4가지. 오우. 존나. 본의 아니게 감정적이게 되는 책이였다.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This novel portrays a very honest and accurate situation of the Japanese work culture. Working overtime means you are dedicated to your work. It is also a way to show loyalty to your company. Getting home early means laziness and lack of commitment. Many Japanese are under the pressure of getting home early even they have no more works to do. From my observation, most of them are just staying in the office, not particularly doing anything. They are just staying in the office (chit-chatting) until the time they think it is a reasonable time to leave.
Besides, leaving home on time also shows how a person is lack ability in the Japanese culture. However, I cannot agree with this statement 100%. For me, being able to leave work on time indicates a person is productive, as s/he can finish what s/he has to do for the day on time. In the novel, Yui gets home on time every day but she finishes her work. Not everyone has this skill. Some people are slower in completing their task, some just habitually take a longer time to finish a particular task (well… if you are already expecting yourself to do overtime, you allow yourself to take a longer time to complete it). One of my colleagues told me she did 1~1.5 hours overtime every day, because she was very slow in her work, not entirely because she was busy.
I’ve been working in Japan for about 1.5 years now. I’m glad that overtime isn’t a too serious issue in my company. Most young people get back home on time, it is mostly those older salarymen that stay till late. The novel also shows how the younger generation in Japan is starting to realize the concept of work-life balance and trying to get back home on time even though the older generation is criticizing them for that. Many of the older generation (those born before Heisei) believe that Japan’s economy is strong now because of their dedication and sacrifice to their work (long working hours).
This is definitely an interesting book to understand the Japanese work culture, but I don’t quite enjoy the writing style. I prefer books with fewer characters and focus on each character’s growth. I feel like too many characters are introduced and I have problems to catch-up and remember the names. This novel is adapted to a TV series, maybe it would be interesting to watch it too.
Recommend to people interested in understanding the Japanese work culture, working in Japan, or people who is currently in a hustle work culture
**Painfully Realistic Depiction of Japanese Work-life**
If you've ever worked for a Japanese company you will both love and hate this book. It perfectly depicts Japan's ingrained culture for over-working, and how people who want a healthy work/life balance are the crazy ones. But it has such a good over-arching story with highs and lows that will make you feel like you're watching a car crash you can't look away from.