The Factory, by Hiroko Oyamada

Three new employees struggle to find meaning in their roles in this quirky mix of dystopia and comedy by acclaimed Japanese novelist Hiroko Oyamada.

Three new hirees join “the factory”, a bland yet mysterious workplace. No one seems to know – or is interested, really – in what the factory produces. It exists almost as a world unto itself, with shops, restaurants and residences within its grounds to service employees. There is an idyllic aspect to the factory, too: it is surrounded by trees and vegetation, almost a little forest. There is also a river. A considerable amount of time is spent discussing in almost surreal fashion the wildlife that lives in the forest.

Yoshiko Ushiyama takes on a job shredding documents all day. This is pretty soul destroying work, even though the section she works for is given the snazzy title of “shredder squad”. But basically her days are spent with lacklustre colleagues, pursuing pointless gossip. Yoshiko's brother, whose name we don't learn, gets a job as a proofreader. He reads what appear to be workplace documents, but is utterly bamboozled as to what they all mean, and has a memorable outburst where he declares he has no idea what the factory actually makes. "If these are all factory documents, what the hell is the factory? What's it making?" The most interesting job is that of the moss expert, who is charged with creating a green roof for the factory. This role goes to Yoshio Furufue, an academic. It's another non-job. He basically runs school parties – moss hunts. The real work of the green roofing has already been organised, so he works more as a figurehead, or pointless expert. 

All of the above characters have stumbled onto their jobs – through the suggestion of employment agencies, former work colleagues or relatives. Hence there's a sense of being adrift and without purpose. Life is comfortable, easy going, with no  pressure. Days are spent looking for something useful to do. Actual work appears to be optional. Despite the easygoing atmosphere, all three of the new employees appear on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

The Factory is hard to categorise. It's kind of dystopian, with touches of science fiction, but also humorous in a farcical way. It's amusing to watch Hiroko Oyamada's characters, like mice in a maze, trying to figure out what they should be doing. Wrapped around this narrative of workplace dissatisfaction is the beautiful forest, river and its creatures – shags, lizards and coypuses (a semi aquatic rodent) – that at least work efficiently and with purpose.

An original, entertaining and out-of-the box take on the drudgery of the modern workplace.

The Factory, by Hiroko Oyamada. Published by Granta. $27.99

JAN24