This was an interesting view on Japanese culture through the lens of an office, and through food. I enjoyed the mundane setting and the petty complaints the the characters had against each other, which was in contrast to the tension and emotion, which seemed to be turned up to 100. Intriguing, unsettling and simmering!

I wasn’t at all sure what I was getting into when I started reading this and then found that I had to devour it (😜) in one sitting. A sharp and satirical look at office politics, social expectations and food culture, this novella cleverly explores the social mores that rule and distort all three.

If you have worked in an office you will recognise some of the tropes and will recognise the frustrations of the unacknowledged worker picking up extra work from the department slacker who somehow gets given undeserved leeway.

When Oshio asks Nitani to go for an after work drink and then proposes a joint campaign against Ashikawa, we feel repulsed. Yet as time passes, the sickly sweet vapidity of Ashikawa begins to emerge and you want to shout at her “forget the baking and just do your job!”

It is obvious that Oshio and Nitani are better suited to each other, yet you know that he will still end up with Ashikawa, whose cooking and baking he despises and who he actually holds in contempt. Like the others in the office he, too, will do the polite and expected thing rather than what he actually feels, allowing the only person he can be honest with to take the blame for his transgression and then walk away.

With thanks to NetGalley, Junko Takese and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann for an arc of this book.

This is not a plot based book; it focuses on three people who all work in the office and the odd relationship dynamic they have with one another and food. I found the commentary on Ashikawa who is delicate and cannot work hard, so bakes items for the office to be interesting. How one person can be so coddled and protected by a group causes resentment amongst those who see the favouritism. Oshio's dislike of Ashikawa is a very real element that happens in a workplace, when one needs to pick up the slack. I'm not sure about Nitani, I related to some of his thoughts regarding cooking, food and time. As a non-foodie it was nice to see them written out. But his relationship with both women in relation to food was odd. I don't really understand why he continued to date Ashikawa when he resented her.
I am unsure if it was due to the format of the digital ARC i had but the writing was jarring at times. It would switch persepctives without notice and the occasional first person pronouns being thrown in a section I believed to be third person often caused me to jump out of the story. This could have been due to the translation that was at times clunky.

A novel about office pettiness, unreasonable loathing and sweet treats driving people mad, love it.

I'll start by saying the blurb of this book doesn't really do it justice, the premise is simple but the story telling is excellent. It's injected with dry humour and sarcasm which makes you question if it's supposed to be funny, or just a dark commentary on life.

The whole book is to the point, there's no messing around and each character is presented at face value - a draw back for me, as i would have liked to see some more complexities amungst the characters and really dive into the stories which are hinted at throughout. At parts, your mind starts turning about what dark secrets they could be hiding and i genuinely started playing detective and trying to find clues, then questioning if they really are clues?!

Overall this is a solid read, it's enticing and easy to read, written really cohesively with language and ideas we can all relate to. It was missing something for me, perhaps an extension of some of the ideas presented, or, as i mentioned more complex characters, but regardless, this is an excellent book. 4 ⭐'s for #MayYouHaveDeliciousMeals

A book that had a lot of promise for me personally, being a japanese novella and centered around food! so fun! but it missed the mark and I felt it really fell flat when it could've gone so much further into the story. Safe and easy? Probably, but also entering into bored territory too...

Novella that gives insight into Japanese office culture.

3.5 stars

Rounded up as there was nothing I didn't 'like' about this short story. A few times I was reminded of Butter, the love of food displayed by some of the characters, of cooking and eating.

But this is a story with little plot. A few figures in one office interact. One seems to 'get away' with early finishes and not doing the weekend hours the other staff put in. There is some resentment and attempts at bullying/antagonism.

Ashikawa is meek and seems to be given preference. But her talent for baking seems to appease the whole office. Though not Oshio, who looks down on her. And not Nitani, who despite being in a relationship with Ashikawa, seems to have a more complicated one than you'd expect. Nitani would happily eat a Pot Noodle every night and resents Ashikawa's attempts to cook him flavourful and nutritious meals.

A short study in office politics, but through the lens of Japanese culture. Food seems important, office staff work long hours (mostly) uncomplaining. There is little time for social lives. Anyone not fitting the mould is shunned or suspected.

The story ends quietly, with no real conclusion, we are left pondering the fates of the characters, but it was still a pleasant couple of hours with them and their world. And made me want to eat real food after finishing.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I did read this one pretty quickly as itvis not too long butvit was a bit weird for me . That's not rare, Japanese fiction can be very particular sometimes and I winder if it is the writing or the translation or both. It wasn't a memorable one for me, unfortunately

For me, May You Have Delicious Meals has been a bit of a mixed bag. While I really loved the office dynamics, the food layer was rather a put off! Yes, there were a few interesting observations around food and how it can connect or disconnect people, but really it failed to grip or impress me. I guess this stems from the fact that I don't really have similar experiences when it comes to office life and food, or maybe is just something that I don't care about....

But as for the office life, well that was fascinating. Strange enough I really found myself in Oshio, really, really found myself in her, it was uncanny!! She has been my Japaneses self and I loved her!!! Her trajectory in the story showcasing how unfair working/office life is and how frustrating for those on the receiving end!

I wasn't sure I'd like this one as the reviews were quite mixed but I found it quite dreamy, in a depressing way. We follow three coworkers, Nitani, a young man who survives on instant food and pot noodles, Oshio, a young woman, and Ashikawa, another young woman and a talented baker who enjoys baking for the office.

Nitani and Oshio often go for drinks together, and Oshio complains about Akishawa, who leaves work early or calls in sick regularly, feeling unwell, tired, having a migraine or something. Nitani and Oshio stay in the office later and later to pick up the pieces, and Akishawa turns up the following day with what age has had time to bake the previous evening: lemon madeleines, muffins, grape tartelettes...

There's a lot about the drudgery of work and how soul crushing it is to come in day after day to socialise with people you haven't chosen, staying late, Nitani not wanting to spend any time cooking and cleaning up when he leaves the office after 11pm. The plot wasn't much but I enjoyed the boredom and quiet sadness of it.

There are some lovely passages in May You Have Delicious Meals, and the aim of building an inspection of the trials of office politics and work/life balance around food and our interaction with it was instantly compelling. But despite some moments of real literary uniqueness, I can't help but feel that this was lacking in a few distinct areas. The characterisation is very limited, even for the core characters, and it never quite pushes far enough into absurdism to justify its idiosyncratic style of storytelling.

A promising novella, but ultimately one that left me wanting more.

This was a novella that reads quite quickly! It follows a trio of workers in an office, and the relationship they have with each other, with food and with office politics.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately found myself underwhelmed. It’s a short little book about office politics and the culture of food at work in Japan, and usually such a niche little topic would be right up my alley. But I found myself bored by the office drama, with none of the characters having any redeeming qualities. It just plods along, and I was quite glad to be done with it by the end. Not for me, but could be for you!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC!

This book explores day to day life in a Japanese office, and honestly, it was as boring as I imagine office life to be. I do understand what it is aiming to achieve and give insight to, and I didn't completely dislike it, but it was really slow and difficult to get into.

With "May You Have Delicious Meals", Junko Takase manages to build a fascinating existential reflexion inside a seemingly mundane office environment. By juxtaposing an individual who hates consuming food and being consumed by the necessity for feeding oneself; and another, who lives to produce beautiful meals and snacks, Takase studies the human obsession with perfection, the nature of addiction – and the exhausting social codes of Japanese workplaces.

Not only is this story interesting for its deeper thoughts and musings on the meaning of food, nutrition, eating and sharing food as a cornerstone of human connection, but it also reveals the inner workings of a Japanese office – the most toxic and all-consuming environment of all, where most individuals spend the remainder of their lives.
Takase has crafted a complex protagonist who is unlikable but honest and an interesting case study in all his contradictions, and constructed a beautiful triangle with two opposing characters, whose similarities are also revealed as events unravel and truths are revealed about all three.
The intensity and punctual impact of Takases ideas and plot lines are suitable for a short and sweet read, so the length of the story was also well-chosen.

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese culture and literature!

In May You Have Delicious Meals, Junko Takase offers a keenly observed and subtly subversive look at the power dynamics and social expectations that shape office life, all wrapped in the guise of a workplace drama about food, relationships, and personal boundaries. Set in a Saitama office, the story follows Nitani, a man caught between two very different women who represent the contrasting forces of conformity and rebellion in the workplace.

Ashikawa, sweet and obliging, is the kind of woman Nitani feels he should marry: a traditional figure who brings homemade baked goods to the office, winning over colleagues with kindness and sugary treats rather than actual work. Nitani, who is struggling with his own feelings of dissatisfaction and burnout, begins to lose respect for her, seeing in her kindness an extension of the office's oppressive, work-first ethos. He’s tired of the pressures to be “good” and productive, and finds himself craving something less predictable and more liberating.

Enter Oshio, the bolder, freer woman who becomes Nitani’s drinking buddy. Where Ashikawa follows the rules, Oshio is a rule-breaker, someone who isn’t afraid to show her unfiltered self in a workplace that demands conformity. Their growing closeness serves as a quiet rebellion against the rigid office dynamics, with both characters struggling to navigate a culture that values discipline over self-expression. As their bond deepens, they find themselves balancing between the indulgence of their after-hours freedom and the unrelenting demands of their office lives.

Takase’s writing is both perceptive and delicate, capturing the absurdities and tensions of modern life with a sharp, almost comedic touch. The workplace, with its subtle pressures and social rituals around food, becomes a microcosm of larger societal dynamics—where appearance, control, and conformity clash with the yearning for authenticity and personal connection. The inclusion of food is not just a way to bring the characters together, but also serves as a metaphor for the indulgences and restrictions that shape their lives.

I love workplace novels and this one was no exception. Absurdist and refreshing. Can we a tad slow but once you got into the rhythm of reading it I couldn’t put it down.

Overall I would say I enjoyed reading May You Have Delicious Meals but it wasn’t a story I was itching to pick up and it took me a lot longer than it should have to finish given how short it is.

I almost felt it was a little underdeveloped particularly Nitani’s character as there was so much more than could have been done there in terms of his feelings towards food. Equally I feel like I expected it to be a bit more weird and in reality it was quite a mundane read!

I really wanted to enjoy this book as the blurb was interesting but I struggled with it's cadence and found it difficult to get into.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book has a very interesting concept, but I don't quite think this was a hit for me.

I have read a lot of books centring around Japanese culture and food this year, and I definitely enjoyed some of the other books more.

I have given this book 3 stars as I did enjoy the writing and the premise of this book, but I don't it does anything more for the topics involved in it's narrative. I also don't think I enjoy books about food as much as I think I do which is my own issue!

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

I love books that deal with food in some way 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. The novel 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 seem to be always 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 is, in a way, a character who voices a bit of this other side of Nitani, this toxic side of his, 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 REALLY liked (and I don't know what that says about me).

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