Customer Reviews

The Accidental Office Lady

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

(I am a colledge student in Japan. I happened to find this a book online.)Her efforts to struggle to accept and change wrong phases of Japanese custom for herself made me inspired, though I would prefer to comment on what she recounted. Her yarn may be a little bit dated; Japen's society has changed since then: times are bad; most people don't indulge in luxary; increasing young men are breaking with tradition. It is TRUE, however, that Japan is a sexist society. You will find how much discrimination the auther encountered. As a female, I feel offensive against old, ridiculous Japanese notions of women which defines that they are so weak that they must depend on men. Most women in this book seem not to be aware of sexism in the society, but I hope you to know today's many Japanese women are claiming their rights.

As she uses a word 'embarrassed' many times, I found Japanese people are too shy at trivial situations(maybe I am, too!). She made me grasp my country objectively and differencies between Japanese and American culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially Japanese people. The 'gohatto' she made in this book may be useful for those who ventured into the westrn society.

Finally, she has made a mistake of a sumo wresler's name; his name is Chiyonofuji, correctly.

This book is definitely a worthwhile read for those who have never visited Japan or even for those who have spent a short time there and were less than enthralled with the experience. It offers a very accurate view from a typical American experience whether working in the Japanese business world, in the English teaching profession, or in another field generally made up of foreigners.

I was disappointed that there was not much mention of the positive aspects of Japanese business culture. Unfortunately, most foreigners who visit Japan also make this same ommision when recounting their experiences.

Something that perplexed me from the outset of the book was the great lack of knowledge and understanding of modern Japan that the author exhibited as she made her way through the events of her story. It was my understanding that she had completed a Japanese Studies program which included study abroad at a very prestigious Japanese university before beginning as a trainee at the Honda headquarters.

Ms. Kriska recently gave a presentation at the Japan America Society here in Cincinnati, which I attended at the last minute, by accident so to speak. Following her lively presentation, my curiosity was peaked enough to buy the book. As it happens, I had to fly to Los Angeles a few days later, and settled in for 4 hours on interrupted reading. Ms. Kriska writes as she comes across in person: witty, smart, engaging, understanding, forgiving, yet always with an agenda to be accomplished (in her book: the "uniform policy" episode; in her presentation: to get the audience to buy the book), for which she does not apologize (nor should she). Ms. Kriska's eye for details is impressive, even more so realizing that the book was written some 8 years after the events. Unexplained both at the presentation and in her book is what exactly caused the long delay in starting and/or finishing the book. That aside, anyone looking for a good international "human interest" story or for that perfect summertime poolside reading, this is a can't-miss book, guaranteed to make you smile along the way. And it made my flight to/from Los Angeles seemingly so much shorter!

I enjoyed this book for the most part, and would recommend it with a few reservations. The best parts are when the author describes the small but special episodes of her life in Japan (her first bike commute to work, the ride up Mt. Fuji with her male bicycling club, going to the hot springs with her two colleagues) and the worst are when she lapses into her "yea me!" moments (starting around page 187 or so and continues to the end of the book) or tries to summarize her experiences with some type of pithy comment (it seems from the last pages of the book that she was rushing to meet her deadline). Descriptions in this book are excellent but moments of analysis and reflection are very weak. For example, when the author vandalizes the toilet in a public bathroom she simply portrays it as a laughable sorority-type prank and misses the opportunity to explore her actions as an inability to deal with a cultural difference, which would have added a great deal to the book.

To summarize--"An Accidental Office Lady" shines when the author leaves her ego out of it, which is about two-thirds of the time. Look here for great descriptions of expatriate experiences in Japan but not for much else.

Based on her two-year cultural experience working at the Honda Company in Tokyo, Japan, Laura Kriska wrote her unique and insightful work titled "The Accidental Office Lady." The author was the first American woman to work at the Honda corporate headquarters in Japan. She wrote this book to which drew the readers to experience her difficulties of trying to fit in the Japanese corporate life and her two-year account of being a trainee at the Honda Company to her satisfied work at the factory in Japan. Through the eyes of the author herself, she helps the readers to see the Japanese culture with her use of woman's perspective, humor, Japanese language, and attitudes.

There are sixteen chapters in this work with the addition of the "Prologue," which introduces the author as she just graduated from college, and she expresses her affection of Japan with her brief experiences from her childhood to her years in college before moving to the country of Japan.

One intriguing thing from this book that it explores the conformity of the Honda Company and its negative and positive aspects. The best example of the conformity at the Honda Company as shown in this book was the office lady in general. Since the office ladies have a strict routine, they were all working in harmony and with almost same job function day after day for months on end. Every office lady in the company has the exact same uniform and was expected to have the same politeness and attitudes, despite their sizes and their unexpressed, different opinions. By looking at the office ladies in action at the Honda Company from a Western perspective, one might think that they are seeing numerous feminine machines with common uniforms working together as one. The main negative aspect of the conformity of the company was a strict routine everyday of a week which could cause a worker to lose one's self-identity and sense of freedom. A worker's loss of self-identity would be like losing one's arm because self-identity is part of who they are. In a way, the worker would only be a part of the corporate system where they are seen as nothing but a simple tool to their company success. The main positive aspect of the conformity, from a different perspective, as implied in this work was to present a good image for the Honda Company. The conformity seems to be the company's perfect system that can achieve their success and goals, and can run their business "smoothly and effectively." The author also expresses in her experience that the act of conformity was the "center of almost everything" that the office ladies did, such as answering the phone and wearing identical uniform (p. 118). One could see that the conformity of the Honda Company in Japan as evident in the book where one can understand its negative and positive aspects.

This book is very insightful and entertaining to which gives a fascinating woman's perspective about the Japanese corporate culture.

Kriska not only paints a compelling picture of being the first American woman to work for Honda Corporation in Japan, but also provides a roadmap for anyone trying to get unstuck from a frustrating, demeaning position. With honesty and integrity she shows us her foibles and fumbles as she negotiates her way through the austere Japanese hierarchy and sexism in the workplace. By the end of the book, she has begun to master the subtle art of deference and found chinks in the armor of a huge corporation. She and the Office Ladies of the title manage to get the sexist policy of workplace uniforms for women only revoked at Honda. No small task given the steadfast nature of rules in Japan. This book is inspirational for anyone looking to effect change when the odds are against you!

This book is not "great", but if you've been abroad for long periods of time or if you are planning to go or even if you know someone who currently is abroad (think of any foreigner you have ever met), I would reccommend picking up this book. I think the author does a good job of describing what it's like to chose to utterly comply with stupid social conventions in another culture, even though it has never occured to you to comply with social convention in your own country.

But it's not just the Japanese. As someone who has spent significant periods being annoyed with German, Spanish, British and now (again) French culture (and who has spent her time in the US ostentatiously ignoring anything that could be called tradition), I can tell you: it's not just the Japanese. That is just what it is like to be in a different country. And what the author really descibes well is that feeling of utter helplessness: once you have decided to conform to the customs of another culture, you have in effect abdicated ANY right to protest if their cultural rules are dumb (or unfair or biased or self-defeating or anything else).

And she's right: it takes massive personal strength to be able to submit in that way. It is also true, as she points out again and again, that NO ONE will give you any credit for it. No one will realize what massive compromises you are making in order to conform to a culture which is not your own. They don't see why it should take any effort to conform to something that is 100% normal for them. So it begins to feel like you are running on a treadmill REALLY REALLY FAST -- but everyone else is standing still so they can't understand why you should be out of breath.

There was another thing I thought was funny, touching, but unfortunately relatively banale: she was shocked to find her life wasn't a fashion shoot for Vogue. I think it's a general part of growing up to realize that life is just not that glamourous (even if your life does include working in Japan)

I do agree with several of the comments regarding some editing errors in the book -- but that I would say is the publishers fault. And it's true, this book is not War and Peace. But hey, people, she did something your couldn't do (and she's lived to write a witty and telling book about the ordeal) so shut the hell up.

Laura Kriska gives us an insider's look at corporate Japan, with the sexism, the corporate culture, the problems in dealing with Non-Japanese workers and business partners. There is not much to tell - she did a very good job, with lots of humor and wit, as well as insight, to describe her two years working for Honda Motor Company. From uniforms, to working along side Office Ladies and Factory Workers, to helping the Japanese deal with problems that, frankly, they didn't want to deal with.
I wish she had a few more books out there - it was hard to put this one down!

I enjoyed reading this story of one woman's experience of working in Japan. The writer's affinity for Japan remains clear despite the frustrations she encounters as the only American woman among thousands of Japanese workers. This book provided insight into the Japanese-American relationship that I haven't before seen. Overall this was a thoughtful, funny and engaging read.

Kriska's memoir starts out at an even pace and builds throughout the book. It intelligently criticizes Japanese (and, in many ways, American) culture, while silmultaneously retaining a deep respect for her second country. The book is fun, light on its feet, and extremely unpredictable. A great ride and a must-read before any American's trip to Japan!