May you have delicious meals, by junko takase

Three office workers find themselves caught in some weird office politics.

Ashikawa is a sweet natured young woman who likes to bake treats for her co-workers, sickly sweet cakes and tarts with intricate icing work and dainty decorations. Her arrival at her office job with these elaborate confections are almost mini-events. Co-workers gather around and await specially cut slices and must then ooh and ahh at every mouthful.

Nitani is in a half-hearted relationship with Ashikawa. He likes to eat instant noodles, almost as a staple. He hates to fuss with food and prefers the quickest route to a full stomach. Despite his relationship status with Ashikawa, he finds her annoying. Worse still, he secretly doesn’t like her sweet treats she bakes for the office. 

Oshio, another workmate, often hangs out with Nitani for beers and is the complete opposite of Ashikawa. In fact, she can’t stand Ashikawa. The truth is, Ashikawa is high maintenance, and she is coddled by her co-workers, receiving special treatment. She regularly goes home early, or has sick days, due to recurring headaches or simple bouts of fatigue. Co-workers hover around her, asking that she’s alright, even suggesting she go home. 

The irony is, Ashikawa is portrayed as the weak one, yet she somehow, innocently enough, manages to manipulate those around her.

Junko Takase is an award winning Japanese novelist. May You Have Delicious Meals, as the title suggests, is a quirky, out-of-the box look at office work and the interpersonal politics it spurs. This is a not too happy crew of workers, grudgingly attending ‘fun’ office lunches and other get-togethers, but not unhappy enough to seek work elsewhere or make serious career changes. They are trapped in comfortable but uninspiring, unambitious lives. This may sound bland enough, but Takase lifts the subject matter with brilliant comic touches and a careful anatomising of modern workplace culture and manners.

A strange, oddball little novel for readers of Convenience Store Woman and There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job. 

May You Have Delicious Meals, by Junko Takase. Translated by Morgan Giles. Published by Hutchinson Heinemann. $34.99

​Review by Chris Saliba

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