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.