A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it's close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing, and, ideally, very little thinking. Her first gig-watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods-turns out to be inconvenient. (When can she go to the bathroom?) Her next gives way to the supernatural: announcing advertisements for shops that mysteriously disappear. As she moves from job to job-writing trivia for rice cracker packages and punching entry tickets to a purportedly haunted public park-it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all but something altogether more meaningful. But when she finally discovers an alternative to the daily grind, it comes with a price. This is the first time work by Kikuko Tsumura-winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award-has been translated into English. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job is as witty as it is unsettling-a jolting look at the maladies of late capitalist life through the unique and fascinating lens of modern Japanese culture.

"A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it is close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing - and ideally, very little thinking. She is sent to a nondescript office building where she is tasked with watching the hidden-camera feed of an author suspected of storing contraband goods. But observing someone for hours on end can be so inconvenient and tiresome. How will she stay awake? When can she take delivery of her favourite brand of tea? And, perhaps more importantly - how did she find herself in this situation in the first place? As she moves from job to job, writing bus adverts for shops that mysteriously disappear, and composing advice for rice cracker wrappers that generate thousands of devoted followers, it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all, but something altogether more meaningful..."--Provided by publisher.

Unable to find the perfect job that suits her needs, a young woman discovers an alternative to the daily grind that comes with a high price.

A dark, compelling tale about a woman's search for meaning in the modern workplace.

Convenience Store Woman meets The New Me in this strange, compelling, darkly funny tale about one woman's search for meaning in the modern workplace.

A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it is close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing, and ideally, very little thinking. As she moves from job to job--writing trivia for rice cracker packages; punching entry tickets to a purportedly haunted public park--it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not searching for the easiest job at all, but something altogether more meaningful. And when she finally discovers an alternative to the daily grind, it comes with a price.

Nel suo ruolo di consulente del lavoro, la signora Masakado ©· abituata a incontrare le persone pi©£ stravaganti, ad accogliere le richieste pi©£ insolite, e in genere ©· in grado di accontentare tutti. Cos©Ơ, quando una giovane donna si presenta presso la sua agenzia, ©· sicura di avere l'offerta adatta a lei. Dopo essersi licenziata in seguito a un esaurimento nervoso, la donna sembra infatti avere le idee molto chiare su ci©ø che vuole: oltre a essere vicino a casa, il nuovo impiego dovr© prevedere solo mansioni semplici e non offrire prospettive di carriera; dovr© essere, insomma, del tutto privo di sostanza, al limite tra il gioco e l'attivit© seria. Nelle singolari occupazioni che si prende in carico - dal sorvegliare uno scrittore sospettato di attivit© di contrabbando a inventare consigli che impreziosiscono la confezione di una marca di cracker di riso -, la neoassunta cerca soprattutto di non lasciarsi coinvolgere troppo. Ma nel suo saltare da un posto all'altro, nel suo acquisire regolarmente pi©£ responsabilit© di quelle desiderate e ruoli pi©£ complicati del previsto, le diventa sempre pi©£ chiaro che non solo il lavoro perfetto non esiste, ma che quello che sta veramente cercando ©· qualcosa di molto pi©£ profondo. Ogni cambiamento comincia cos©Ơ a rappresentare una nuova fase di crescita interiore, fino alla consapevolezza che in tutto ci©ø che si fa c'©· qualcosa di magico, di unico e di appagante, e che dobbiamo solo trovare (o non perdere) l'energia per riconoscerne la bellezza. Ironico e tenero, il romanzo di Tsumura Kikuko ©· una commedia dolceamara che, con la leggerezza, l'umorismo deliziosamente paradossale e un pizzico di surrealismo, tipici di tanta letteratura giapponese, racconta della ricerca, spesso vana, di un senso nel mondo del lavoro di oggi. Con un finale a sorpresa.