I was really looking forward to this, as the concept of an exploration of the dynamics of office politics in Japan through food sounded like a great theme for a novel. Whilst I did enjoy it, I couldn't really connect with the main characters, nor did I feel that the plot developed as fully as it could. The message: use food to curry favour (sorry for the pun) and it's ok to be lazy or incompetent.

Interesting, and a quick read, but in the end kinda forgettable and one that I won;t be re-reading. 3.5 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

This was a sarcastic, weird book - I was expecting it to be a cute book about food and it wasn’t and I loved the direction it went in and the food for thought (pun intended) it gave me.

May You Have Delicious Meals offers a sharp and thought-provoking exploration of workplace culture, societal pressures, and the tension between authentic and performative relationships. Initially, I struggled with the pacing—it took me a while to settle into the rhythm of the narrative—but as the novella progressed, I found myself increasingly drawn to its quiet, incisive critique. The recurring motif of food is particularly compelling, serving as both a reflection of social expectations and a metaphor for the ways in which these pressures can become stifling, even suffocating. What begins as a seemingly straightforward commentary on corporate life gradually deepens into a meditation on conformity, obligation, and the quiet rebellion of personal choice.

I want to try the food.
What an interesting slice of life. I made a list of characters and sorted out the sexes, I found the attitudes of the full time and part time workers interesting. The story is set in a marketing company, with very normally polite people, one exeption is Oshio, she often says what she thinks and is not fond of Ashkawa, a girl who is timid, kind and sweet. Nitani starts seeing Ashikawa, they meet for meals and she often cooks for him. Nitani would actually prefer pot noodles and instant food as he resents the time taking to prepare food and eating with other people.
I liked the insight into office life and the interactions of Oshio, Nitani and Ashikawa.
Thank you NetGalley, Junko and publisher for this ARC.

This is a novella translated from the Japanese that seems to poke fun at the power games within Japan’s offices using food as a sort of mirror. It focuses on three main characters. Nitani eats nothing but Pot Noodles. He likes life to be convenient - not for him the idea of going home to prepare a meal. The other two characters are Ashikawa and Oshio. Ashikawa is described as a good person, one who is constantly smiling but she is seen as weak. She needs to be looked after as a difficult client will reduce her to tears. She brings in baked goods regularly as a way of thanking her co-workers for stepping in. Being so sweet and meek, Nitani believes that she is the sort of person he should marry and so starts to date her. Oshio is the opposite of Ashikawa and almost the bad voice in Nitani’s ear. They regularly go out for a drink after work and Oshio will moan about Ashikawa and Nitani will join in even though he is dating her. The whole culture around food is, for me, strange, as there seems to be a specific way that you are supposed to praise the person bringing in food. However, Nitani rebels against Ashikawa’s food and her attempt to stop him from eating Pot Noodles. At times this is an uncomfortable and misogynistic read and you wonder why Ashikawa stays with him. However there could be another way of looking at Ashikawa - is she manipulating her co-wprkers to do her work by the constant gift giving? While she seems to be the ideal feminine model, Oshio is not as she is seen to be outspoken and aggressive. An interesting read.

I found this quite muddled and a little too repetitive to focus on, wasn't for me. I feel like this could have been much shorter and therefore much more compelling.

I think if you were immersed in Japanese office culture, this novella about food and work relationships would have more meaning. I could really see what was meant to resonate - the relationship with food, reflecting the work world - but it felt too slight.

An interesting view on Japanese office culture and food. It didn’t grip me as much as I had hoped though.
Thank you Penguin UK and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

May You Have Delicious Meals by Takase Junko was a book I liked on some levels but not on others. On the plus side, it offered an intriguing 'behind-the-scenes' glimpse of office politics in the Japan, embedded deeply in the unwritten society rules of politeness and etiquette. On that front it was interesting reading and made one consider conformity and stereotypes. On the downside, though, I found the vignette-style narrative a little off putting. You had to keep re-establishing yourself with the right character in each new moment, and that gave the book a lack of overall cohesion which sometimes led to my focus and attention wandering as I was reading. If you are interested in modern Japanese culture, it's definitely worth a read, but don't go in expecting a story with a clear beginning, middle and end. I am giving it four stars.

May You Have Delicious Meals by Junko Takase (translated by Anna Wells) is a sharp, satirical novella that uses food as a lens to explore power, rebellion, and isolation within Japan’s rigid office culture. At just 144 pages, this Akutagawa Prize-winning story dissects workplace dynamics through three colleagues—each navigating societal expectations in different, and often quietly defiant, ways.

Ashikawa plays the office “good girl,” using charm and tradition to maintain harmony...or perhaps mark her territory. Nitani, her resentful boyfriend, turns to instant noodles as a passive act of rebellion (you'll have to read it for the rationale :) ). Meanwhile, Oshio, the overworked outsider, drowns her frustrations in after-work drinking, exposing the double standards of corporate life in Japan.

Takase’s prose is understated but piercing, and Wells’ translation effectively captures the novella’s biting critique. While the characters serve more as symbols of societal roles than deeply fleshed-out individuals, this approach highlights the story’s true focus—the tension between conformity, quiet resistance, and truly playing the system.

If you enjoy literary fiction that is sharp, unflinching, and socially aware, May You Have Delicious Meals is a thought-provoking read. Perfect for fans of workplace critiques, cultural commentary, and stories that make you reconsider the significance of everyday choices—like what’s on your plate. That said,, people who like to like their main characters may dislike this narrative because there isn't one truly charismatic 'nice guy' in the cast of characters and that will likely feel disconcerting.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, and the teams at Cornerstone and Hutchinson Heinemann for the advance copy.

I think this Japanese story was not for me.

When I read the synopsis I liked it because it seemed like it was really going to be in the style of Japanese and Korean books that are being translated lately AND IT IS! But no, at times I didn't know what I was reading or why I had to continue. There was a lack of attractive or endearing characters and I think this was an obstacle.

The satire of the working world is interesting, how it exposes the food culture of Japan... but it was all quite depressing.

It is a peculiar story that can be very enjoyable or very frustrating.

Thank you very much Random House UK for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed many of translations of Japanese novels that are available now. There are some great books in the genre. I don't think this slight novella fits well with the other books. Maybe something lost in the translation, though I do not feel the translation is at fault. I read this on a train journey and found staring out of the window more fun.

I struggled to get into this one a little and I can't quite put my finger on why. I didn't really find the characters likable or engaging, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing in every book it just didn't really work here for me.

A slice of life book lending insight into office life and culture in Japan. The story revolves around three characters Nitani and his two female colleagues, Ashikawa and Osiho.

Nitani and Osiho are particularly unlikeable. Despite secretly seeing Ashikawa, he lets Osiho rant about her and conspire to bully her in the office. Ashikawa is of a delicate disposition and seems to get away getting little work done and avoiding confrontational situations. She does however, like to bake and likes to feed people.

I found Nitani to be despicable. The fact that he preferred cup noodles to Ashikawa's cooking highlighted the need for convenience in his life and that the relationships in his life were disposable.

May You Have Delicious Meals is a heartwarming and delightful read. Through its vibrant storytelling and charming characters, Takase captures the essence of food as not just sustenance but a source of connection and joy. The book beautifully explores themes of love, friendship, and the comfort of a shared meal, making it both relatable and uplifting.

I had high hopes for this but it wasn’t for me.

It had some amusing and relatable observations of office life and the associated food culture but was also kind of a bummer.

All of the characters were the worst and it was incredibly misogynistic and a little ableist. I was very surprised to see it was written by a female author!

This is an odd one, and I really liked it!

I love novels about food, and I am a huge fan of Japanese literature, so I knew I had to read this book as soon as I first heard of it!

May You Have Delicious Meals is a short novel about Japanese office culture, especially when it comes to food. It pointedly begins with our main character Nitani refusing to go out for lunch with his boss, which marks the beginning of this unhinged ride. The book is centred around a quartet of characters: Nitani, two women he works with—Ashikawa and Oshio—and food, intertwined with the politics of working in an office.

Ashikawa is described as being archetypically a "good" person and, more than that, makes an effort to be perceived that way (e.g. bringing treats for everyone at work), but also acts as this really fragile individual who just can't handle the same workload as everyone else, which makes some people quite annoyed with her (i.e. Nitani and Oshio), even if secretly. Nitani feels very much bothered by her way of thinking about food and overall attitude (which always seem to be linked in this book); he is, in many ways, her opposite, which is evident by his favourite food: Pot Noodles, showing his different outlook on life. Oshio, in a way, gives voice to this other side of Nitani, his toxic side, and they become kind of friends, meeting up to drink and talk badly of Ashikawa.

May You Have Delicious Meals, then, seems to link the characters' attitude to food with their attitude towards life and work in a very unhinged way, which I found really intriguing (and I don't know what that says about me). The book touches on gender dynamics and expectations in Japanese society and seems intent on deliberately unsettling readers with its flawed, judgmental and, sometimes, misogynistic and ableist characters, using food as a way to get the core of who they are and how they go about life.

Thank you so much to Hutchinson Heinemann for the proof and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This book is the small package good things come in. A short but powerful and memorable story about the absurdity of modern life and corporate culture.

A dramatically larger than life peek into the inner workings of adults in the office, their personal lives seeping into work, conflicts, crushes and of course, complex power dynamics. From pot noodles, to protein pills to freshly cooked soba, the story uses beautifully described food as a metaphor to playful and thoughtfully explore power and responsibility.

Each character was just so very human despite their eccentricity — some flawed, judgmental, outdated, desperate or manipulative but so very real in their imperfections. There was an intriguing, strange flow to the story as one narrator uses first person and another third, so it both creates an interesting but at times annoying read especially when it lulls occasionally into mundanity and endless walls of conversation. From misogynistic, ableist and just unlikeable characters, at times it felt like these features were written to showcase them as failings, to show how men have viewed women as stereotypes and give us a look through their lens to show it's ridiculousness - but admittedly a risky move as it could read as just being sexist itself.

A complicated strange little read.

A short novel that deals with office dynamics, power play, modern life and the routine of food, May You Have Delicious Meals piqued my interest since I really enjoy cosy translated Japanese fiction… especially if food is involved!

Dreamlike and dreary in equal measure, May You Have Delicious Meals is a funny little slice-of-life novel that simply doesn’t make it anywhere. The cast of characters are awfully unlikeable and the protagonist seems misogynistic, never missing a beat to speak badly about herself and about women. Takase uses food and meals as a device to synthesise with office politics and dynamics. Ashikawa is the sort of woman that Nitani believes he’ll marry. After all, she’s sweet, meek, mild, and she’s trying to convince him to stray from his Cup Noodles addiction. Yet the more time they spend together, the more Nitani struggles to respect her. In fact, it’s uncomfortable reading at times. I can see what the author is trying to do here, but it falls flat and the workplace is a mighty boring setting for an equally boring story.

An uneven but inventive examination of office politics presented via the interaction of three people assigned to a small department in a regional offshoot of a large Japanese company. Junko Takase’s award-winning novella revolves around newly-transferred Nitani and his evolving relationships with co-workers Oshio and Ashikawa. Natani’s quietly disgruntled, desperate to evade the bonding rituals fundamental to Japanese corporate culture, particularly the shared meals that serve to enforce unity. His colleague Oshio’s equally dissatisfied. But neither feel able to voice their objections – except to each other.

Takase’s story’s told from Natani’s third-person, and Oshio’s first-person perspectives – although Oshio’s contribution operates more like a critique of Nitani’s. The third member of their awkward triangle is Ashikawa. Unlike them, she’s cheerful and outwardly content. Her managers admire her graceful appearance and adherence to traditional feminine ideals. Their belief in her underlying vulnerability means Ashikawa’s excused from anything deemed potentially overwhelming: from meeting with demanding clients to tasks that might prove too tiring. As a result, Oshio and Nitani find themselves shouldering much of Ashikawa’s workload. Their hours are long, often bleeding over into the weekend, a situation that stirs resentment and increasingly rebellious fantasies.

Ashikawa’s an intriguing creation, an enigmatic figure presented solely from Oshio and Nitani’s points-of-view. But, for all three, their respective attitudes towards food seem key to deciphering their personalities and motivations. For Nitani food is essentially fuel, an imposition which takes up far more time than he’d like, for Oshio food’s simply there to be enjoyed. For Ashikawa, who loves to cook, it’s somehow tied up with gift-giving. She regularly brings in elaborate, homemade cakes and sweets, ostensibly compensating colleagues for tolerating frequent absences and shorter working days. This endears her to numerous managers and fellow staff. On the surface, Nitani and Oshio support this view of Ashikawa as decent and nurturing. But Takase encourages us to read between the lines, and question whether Ashikawa is really what she seems.

Gift-giving is central to Japanese culture but it's usually scripted. However, Ashikawa’s approach’s not strictly bounded by convention despite its ritualistic flavour. Ashikawa insists on gathering everyone together to taste her treats, a process that requires them to praise her skills and, in keeping with social norms, publicly perform pleasure as they eat. Ashikawa may just be thanking colleagues for sacrificing on her behalf but there’s a suspicion she’s actually more intent on manipulation. It seems no coincidence these are calorific, cloying rather than nourishing dishes. Is Ashikawa generous or cleverly gaming the system, trapping coworkers in networks of obligation and displays of gratitude? It’s not as if anyone can refuse to complete Ashikawa’s assignments. And how does she find the time to bake when everyone else in the office is beyond overloaded?

Takase never directly addresses these issues instead she gradually positions Oshio in opposition to Ashikawa. Two very different women, two very different modes of femininity. Ashikawa conforms to male expectations, Oshio struggles against them. Ashikawa presents as cute and in need of protection while Oshio’s viewed as outspoken, aggressive and nonconformist. Oshio complies with the company’s excessive demands even though her labour goes unrewarded and largely unacknowledged. But Ashikawa effectively evades responsibility. Nitani’s caught between the two, mired in internal conflicts – as he is about his entire existence. Through their experiences, Takase deftly shifts focus from workplace dynamics to gender roles in contemporary Japan, inviting us to reflect on the restraints and possibilities shaping working women’s lives. Translated by Morgan Giles.