For fans of Convenience Store Woman, this is a lovely slice-of-life story that asks big questions underneath. While on the surface, it seems to be about a woman who can't hold down a job, it's really about connection, caring, and the threads that tie us to society. Charming, funny and surprisingly deep, I really enjoyed this. I also thought that the translation was fantastic, treading a light path between preserving the elements of Japanese culture that might be surprising to a UK reader while making the narration accessible, voice-driven and funny.

A light, fresh take on being burned it at work. The protagonist had left her previous job as it took too much emotional labor, and asks for an easy job. She is given almost comically easy jobs, watching surveillance footage of an author, sticking up posters and manning a hut in the middle of a national park among others, but each job turns out to have hidden depths. I found the main character amusing, if hard to empathize with, as she gets fed up with each of the jobs, but she finds out a bit more about herself with each one, and ends up helping others. She finally ends up going back refreshed to her original line of work. I enjoyed this slightly exaggerated slice of Japanese millennial life. It was lighter than convenience store woman, but just as enjoyable.

I related to this novel far too much for comfort. Hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, it'll be hard to go back to your normal life when you've finished. But it's worth it.