Winner of the Akutagawa Prize “So bracing, so strange and humane... I loved it.” — Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti “Funny... All the people in this novel are alive.” — Hiromi Kawakami, author of Strange Weather in Tokyo “Witty and sharp... I devoured it.” — Natalie Sue, bestselling author of I Hope This Finds You Well “A slim but impactful novel that will make you laugh and think.” — Dazed The power dynamics of the office are never more apparent than when it comes to food: mandatory lunches with the boss, the colleague currying favor with home-baked treats, or the sad remnants of someone’s late-night binge. In a small office in Saitama, Ashikawa is the kind of woman Nitani imagines he’ll one day marry—sweet, obliging, and determined to cure him of his instant noodle addiction. Yet he finds himself unable to respect her—or the sugary sweets she brings in to win her coworkers’ affection through baking rather than hard work. Oshio, on the other hand, is bold and uninhibited—Nitani’s drinking buddy and kindred spirit. In the stifling atmosphere of the workplace, the two grow close, bonded by their shared status as outsiders rebelling, in quiet ways, against the rigid corporate order. As office politics, social expectations, and personal frustrations collide, [title of book] becomes a wry, tender, and absurdly funny exploration of modern life—caught between indulgence and restraint, leisure and labor, and the eternal comfort of a lonely cup of noodles.
