Rental Person Who Does Nothing is a memoir about a Japanese man who 'does nothing' for people, spending time with people who contact him on Twitter for things they need someone else for. The book is intercut throughout with tweets that are either requests from people or Morimoto's own tweets about particular clients, as he explains what he's done and how he has found being a rental person who doesn't do anything except be there, not offering advice but just existing.

This short book is both an account of how Morimoto became Rental Person and what he's done as part of that, and also a consideration of what it means to do nothing for a living and if we should be able to have money to just exist. The stories of the clients are the really memorable elements of the book as there's a lot of emotional and quietly lovely moments for people, whether it is a prompt that makes them finally do the dishes or someone trying to make the day of filing divorce memorable for another reason. The real variation of reasons that people rent Rental Person to be there with them are fascinating and it gives an insight into human connections and the kinds of transactions between people that happen every day.

Thanks ever so much to @picadorbooks for sharing this title with me on @netgalley!

Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto, translated from the Japanese by Angus Turvill.

Incredibly refreshing, a lovely light read, and offering much to think about! Rental Person Who Does Nothing is a fascinating insight into modern Japanese society. The author is the eponymous person who does nothing but who, in fact, does a lot more than he thinks. At the service of his followers, he embarks on the most bizarre and mundane requests: accompanying someone to sign their divorce papers, watching them as they study or work, saving a decent space for someone under blossoming cherry trees, sending a text at a specific time upon request...

Morimoto's musings on each of the requests he receives and deadpan humour are present throughout, sometimes even verging on the purely philosophical. He doesn't charge for his 'services' and receives most of his requests via Twitter, with word-of-mouth doing the rest. The inclusion of photos in the book is also a great addition, as they are both hilariously dull and insightful (though their resolution in my Kindle wasn't the best!)

All in all, this was a great and unique read and one I would recommend widely. Personally, I completely see the appeal of having someone there, even if they're not doing actively doing anything for you. What means nothing to one person can mean the world to someone else and therein lies the brilliance of his job!

4/5

I absolutely loved this book!

Quick, easy to read. A brilliant story, and an interesting person. Absolutely brilliant, I'm going to ask my manager to get load if these in!

I first heard about Rental Person Who Does Nothing from a video on YouTube so when I saw this available I was intrigued to read it.

If nothing else, Rental Person Who Does Nothing is interesting, the concept itself but also the types of people who use the service and what they use it for. This was enough to keep me entertained throughout.

One of the most unconventional reads you will find this year. Rental Person Who Does Nothing manages to show the many ways in which a person truly does nothing, yet is beneficial to those around them. It captures the very essence of humanity and how the people in our lives may impact us along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Picador for providing me with a free advanced copy!

4.0

I actually found myself enjoying this memoir greatly, and I found it endearing. The tone is completely detached from emotion, logic, and reasoning, and is simply just a book about Rental Person who really does nothing, and it fits perfectly. Don't take this book too seriously, and I'm scared that people will because this book is meant to be light-hearted and funny and just a little insight into Rental Person's job. I really did like how honest they were, they even admitted that someone else wrote this book and that they hoped to make money from the royalties so that they don't have to work a corporate job.

It was by all means brutally honest about life, relationships particularly friendships, and the human need for connection. And this being set in Japan makes a lot of sense, there is a culture of chronic loneliness there that a Rental Person would of course be a huge hit. I liked the detached tone of the narrator, and I enjoyed his musings about his life, friendships, relationship, and the job itself. I also liked how he views people, I can't really explain it but he doesn't see them as other human beings, but just beings that exist if that makes sense.

Some thing I didn't like I guess was that I didn't know where one story ended and another finished. It all blurred into one. I think that was deliberate, if so, that's good, they executed it well but I'm not too sure I can vibe with it.

Other than that, it was a good book! I enjoyed it, and it would make a good palate cleanser or a book that you read to get back into reading.