Review of ​The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

​The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada is a novel about three workers who all have strange jobs that soon become meaningless. One works as a paper shredder, another works as a copy editor for factory documents, and the third studies the moss growing around the factory. Their lives are surrounded by the meaningless tasks that are set out before them. The man who studies the moss, at one point put on a moss hunting event for children, where a grandfather and boy joined in. The day after, they ask the man to read and edit the kid’s school project about unique animals within the factory. The man reluctantly agrees, and eventually after reading about the Factory Shag, the man decides to photograph them. At the same time, the paper shredder is asked to take a day off, so she walks to a bridge on the factory premises and meets the man who studies moss.
 
The novel relies on its strangeness to propel the narrative along. Questions that arise from its strangeness were What does the factory actually do? What do their jobs have to do with anything? Why are there so many strange creatures around? Did the paper shredder woman actually turn into a bird in the end? I particularly enjoyed the kid’s report on the Washer Lizards, and generally got the vibe of the slightly surreal, slightly macabre aspect of modern workplace life. Though quite different, the workplace strangeness reminds me of the show Severance, in that the purpose of what the workers do is obscured, seemingly done for no other reason than to give people a salary. The Factory also jumps POVs between the three characters and I found it worked particularly well when the two workers met on the bridge. The novel overall was a fun and quick read.
 
Overall Rating: 4.5/5