(Free review copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

I found this book riveting although I have a feeling it will be one of those marmite books... It's a slow-paced, everyday story of a woman who, after suffering burnout and leaving her job of 14 years, enters a job agency looking for a post with ideally very little thinking. Her first new job is surveilling a writer in his home. But as the title suggests, no job is quite as simple as it first seems.

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Kikuko Tsumura absolutely nails the humdrum atmosphere of a job which nevertheless utterly absorbs you. She pinpoints the moment when a job stops being 'just a job' and ends up consuming you, occupying your thoughts until work becomes your whole life, and anything else seems inconsequential. It was freaky how much I could relate to the main character at times. I've had plenty of jobs which seem easy or dull but which ended up becoming my whole world - and like the main character I found it entertaining, even peaceful after a while. The rhythm of stickering hundreds of products, or making hundreds of sandwiches, or tearing hundreds of tickets...

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It was interesting to me to read about it as an outsider. I did feel for the main character; I felt thrilled when she lit upon some great new idea for trivia, and then worried for her when things snowballed out of control. But as a reader, you're at a suitable distance to realise... it IS just a job. I've been in many situations where I agonise for weeks over something at work - something that makes not a spec of difference in the grand scheme of things, but to you, it feels like everything.

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I'm always dubious when a book by a Japanese author has a reference to Convenience Store Woman in the blurb, and indeed the social commentary in this one isn't on Sayaka Murata's level. But there is a lot about the routine, the comfort of work, and the idea of being a productive member of society. I'm less sure about the 'meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation' part of the blurb, as it's not that dark. It's maybe a bit too long, especially the last two jobs, but overall I found it a compelling read!