May You Have Delicious Meals

<p><b>WINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE</b><br><br><b>''So bracing, so strange and humane . . . I loved it.''</b> SHARLENE TEO, author of PONTI<br><br><b>‘Funny . . . All the people in this novel are alive.’ </b>HIROMI KAWAKAMI, author of STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO<br><br><b>‘Witty and sharp . . . I devoured it.’ </b>NATALIE SUE, bestselling author of I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL<br><br><b>''A slim but impactful novel that will make you laugh and think'' </b><i>DAZED</i><br><br><b>The power dynamics of the office are never more obvious than when it comes to food: mandatory lunches with the boss, the colleague who tries to curry favour with home-baked goods, discovering the discarded remnants of someone else''s late-night binge . . .</b><br><br>In their Saitama office,<b> Ashikawa </b>is the kind of woman <b>Nitani </b>knows he will likely marry: sweet, obliging, and determined to wean him off his addiction to instant noodles. But he finds himself increasingly unable to respect her – or the sugary treats she shares around the workplace, winning their colleagues’ affection with baking rather than hard work.<br><br><b>Oshio </b>is bolder and uninhibited – she is Nitani''s drinking buddy. In the oppressive office atmosphere, the pair grows closer, both outsiders struggling with the rigid status quo.<br><br><b>Driven to behave in increasingly absurd ways by the workplace rules that govern their lives, they must navigate the tensions of modern life: between leisure and hard work; indulgence and restraint; the promise of delicious food, and the reality of a lonely pot noodle.</b></p>