I've been enjoying my exploration of Japanese fiction, and my latest read was a fun trip. The Factory is a surreal novel that felt like I was reading a mash-up of Franz Kafka and Willam S. Burroughs. Think Metamorphosis meets Naked Lunch. The author, Hiroko Oyamada, does a brilliant job of creating this otherwordly experience. The story takes place in and around a massive factory. It's so massive that it's basically its own city. There are restaurants that serve just about anything you might be craving, employee housing (both fancy and low-end), rivers, parks, and commuter busing. The thing is, no one really knows what this factory does. Author Hiroko OyamadaThere are three main characters, each new hires at the factory, and each wondering why they are doing the job they've been assigned. Yoshiko is a communications major who recently graduated is hired to work in print services. Oddly, her job ends up being a paper shredder. Just feeding endless carts of paper into a machine.Next is Yoshio, a university student who is offered a job at the factory as a Moss Specialist. Basically, they want him to study moss on the factory grounds and develop a way to use it as a roofing material. There is no plan in place, they ask him what he needs, put him up in employee housing, and leave him alone. Years pass, but the Factory leadership, whoever they are, don't seem to care whether or not he makes progress.Finally, there is Yoshiko's brother, who is never named. He loses his job in IT and ends up working at the factory as a proofreader. The thing is, the materials that he proofs make no sense. They are instructions for things that aren't defined, random lists, and other odds and ends. What I found interesting about this book is how the author tells the story. Time passes, approximately fifteen years over the course of the story, but there's nothing in the narrative that specifically states that a period of time has passed. It's done with nuance and gives the story a dreamlike quality.Also, there are jumps of perspective and time in the middle of a paragraph or between paragraphs with no delineation to mark the change. I found that I needed to pay close attention and, on a few occasions, I re-read paragraphs to make sure I didn't miss anything. This also feeds into the dreamlike feel of the story. The mood of The Factory is somewhat dark and ominous, but at the same time, the surreal aspect of it almost feels comical. It's sort of like a Dali-esque version of the show, The Office. The work the characters perform is pointless and repetitive, and the fact they are being paid to do it is ridiculous. To me, it felt as if it was also a satire of massive corporations and how easily it can be to get lost in the machinery. I found this to be a fun read. It's also a short read, coming in at 116 pages. If you enjoy surreal fiction, I highly recommend The Factory. It's a delightfully twisted read.For more book reviews and recommendations, check out my Reading List page.RB
