Amazement and tremors

Mr. Hanoda was the head of Mr. Omoshi, who was the head of Mr. Saito, who was the head of Miss Mori, who was my boss. As for me, I was not the head of anyone. We can say it another way. I was subject to the orders of Miss Mori, who was subject to the orders of Mr. Saito, and so on, knowing that the orders could jump over the levels of this administrative ladder to reach the bottom. So I was at Yumeimoto Company, subject to everyone's orders. * * * "Disbelief and Shakes" narrates the experience of a foreign girl working in a giant Japanese company, introducing us to the world of excessive hierarchy, strict discipline, and authoritarian management that prevails in these companies, revealing the rules of interaction there. In this exciting novel, Emily Nothomb, with her usual satirical style, was able to penetrate the depths of Japanese society in which she lived and experienced, and to embody the concept of "clash of civilizations" in all its dimensions and manifestations, which allowed this work to win the Grand Prize of the French Academy upon its publication.