Why on earth would anyone give up a life on the open road for the regimen of a vast Japanese conglomerate? And is it really so different in Japan from everywhere else? Niall Murtagh spent years as a world traveller - hitchhiking to Istanbul, bussing to Kathmandu and crossing the Atlantic in a home-built yacht. In 1986 he closed the door on his adventurous life and settled down in Japan, eventually joining Mitsubishi as a Salaryman - a man in a shiny suit with a shiny attache case in a conglomerate with 100,000 employees. And what happens when you give up the Salaryman life? The book follows life after the corporation, giving fresh perspectives on the nature of Japanese business culture and the problems faced by outsiders in Japan.

I read this years ago as a bookring that got lost somewhere between here and there.

This book stayed in my memory and I bought a new copy to share with you.
Participants:-


LilyKip
Fifna
alexotanil
earthcaroleanne
dark-draco
Nataliec7
Lamilla
Leahjett
Billbooks
And back to Icila please.

On its way to Germany.

I was a bit sceptical when I saw the cover and read the blurb but of course gave it a go. Unfortunately I really couldn't get into this one and gave up after about 20 pages. I'm sorry but it just really isn't my cup of tea.

I'll hold onto it for a couple of weeks as my own choice hasn't even arrived yet with the next reader.

Thanks anyway for sharing and I hope some of the other will enjoy it.

And off it goes to the Netherlands.

Arrived safely! This looks like something I might enjoy.

This was not a 'hilarious' story, as the Daily Mail makes out on the cover. But it was certainly an interesting inside into corporate culture in Japan. One of the best remarks is in the epilogue, where he comments on the pros and cons of having mastered the Japanese language. There are not just advantages to being fluent in the language of your adopted country. Very true. Thanks for sharing!

On its way to alexotanil.

In my hands now. I am a bit prejudiced from the cover but I will certainly give it a go.

I really did try to read this book but, oh my God, I thought it was so boring. The thing is that I couldn't seem to care about the big firms in Japan and their politics. And how many details can I take on the corporation's culture...

On its way to earthcaroleanne.

Arrived

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book at first. It was a bit boring while he was describing the old, traditional corporations. And no mention of the Scotsman, Thomas Blake Glover, who actually founded the company that became The Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan in 1870. The book also shows what ordinary living in Japan is like for a foreigner: company dormitories and apartments, noisy neighbours, how to avoid the commuter rush, marrying into a Japanese family, sending kids to the local schools, handling xenophobic policemen. The big question is whether an outsider can really fit into such a company. Not for me - I certainly could not deal with the intrusion into your private life. Then there is the seeming unproductiveness despite the constant overtime and no holidays “In Mitsubishi, holidays are a privilege, not a right.” I live for my holidays!

Then there are the other characters in the book who had no personalities for the most part. After reading another review, I discovered that if you know some Japanese, you'll appreciate the names of the people described: Mr Nombiri (Easygoing), Mr Hayakui (Fasteater), Mr Higashi (East), who doesn't know much about the West, Mr Nishi (West), who is a fan of General Electric, Mr Shinsetsu (Kind), Miss Kekko (Nothanks) who doesn't want to go on a date, Prof Erai (Great), Mr Shatai (Carbody), who works for Nissan, Mr Eizo (Screenimage), who works for Xerox, etc. I don’t know how the ordinary non-Japanese speaking reader is meant to know this.

Received in Ledbury, AOK. Will read next after my current one.

I live in the countryside - I have a horse and a dog. I love to walk in forests and look out of my window and preferably not see any other people!

My worst nightmare is to live in a city - to be crammed side-by-side on a daily commute to a huge office block where everyone else essentially does exactly the same job as you.

Therefore, this book was on to a bit of a loser to begin with ...

I couldn't get into it all - while the move to another culture can be fascinating, I can't say that modern urban Japan holds enough interest for me to continue reading.

Not one for me :(

At this point I feel obliged to say that I didn't intend to send this book as a model. I live myself in the countryside where I see more horses than people.
I thank that it was funny to read about that poor Irishmen in a very foreign context.
Sorry to have misjudged.

Off to the next recipient of the 'Favourite Book of 2016' Roundabout.

Received today. Thanks dark-draco for the labels included!

Sorry for keeping this for so long!! I held on to it in discussion with Lamilla, so that she didn't have too many in hand.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. The first chapters were quite interesting and it was nice getting an insight into his life in Japan.
However after reaching page 155, I am bored! I literally don't care about Mitsubishi and his latest projects and meetings anymore. It just seems to go on and on and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel with this book.
Today, after much deliberation and deciding that life was too short, I've decided to give up here. The fact that it has taken me ages to get this far in the book, tells me that its just not for me. Sorry!
Hopefully other readers will enjoy it more.

Travelling to Lamilla.

The book is with me, thanks!

I thoroughly enjoyed the story - the book was just right for me, and also nice to read a non-fiction that flows as freely as any fiction on the subject I know. Funny thing, I received it about the same time as "Merde", so my reading month was twice as interesting ))

Is on the way to Billbooks

You've found a travelling book. Hurray!
The book's journey continues by its finder's cooperation and creativity. By making a journal entry on this book, you can add to the book's story as it travels from reader to reader around the world.
Enjoy your reading!

Привет!
Спасибо, что нашли время зайти на сайт и сделать запись в журнале! Напишите, когда и где вы нашли книгу.
Перед тем, как попасть к Вам, она побывала в других уголках света. История ее путешествий записана на сайте, и теперь к ней добавился еще один пункт. Я очень рада, что она нашла нового читателя в Вашем лице.

My last book of the roundabout will it make as an end of the year read or a new year read time will tell

Icila I'm going to pass this onto you with the other book being sent

The book is back at home. Thank you Billbooks and all of you who liked or not liked it.