How Can My Manager Be So Stupid?

by Kazumasa Hayami

Translated by Haydn Trowell

ARC Review

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

September 1, 2026

This was such a sweet bookstore novel, with some serious laugh-out-loud moments.

Kyoko Tanihara knows literary fiction and takes her work seriously, but her job at Musashino Bookshop is wearing her down. She is a part-time employee, her reviews and recommendations are respected, and she carries a lot of responsibility. The other employees rely on her to call things as they are. But her position and paycheck do not reflect any of that.

Then there is her manager, Takeru Yamamoto.

Yamamoto often seems to have absolutely no idea what is going on, and some of the things he does are completely absurd. But every once in a while he has one of those moments where he gets something exactly right, and suddenly you have to reconsider him all over again. Yamamoto is ridiculous, but he is never quite as simple as Kyoko thinks he is.

When you spend every day with someone, it is easy to think you know exactly who they are. You know the annoying habits, the bad decisions and the things they say that make you want to scream. But you really only know their work version. There can be an entire life outside those doors that you know nothing about.

I really enjoyed getting a look at the bookstore world around them. Booksellers have a say in which books get noticed. Even getting copies of a book into the store can depend on decisions made somewhere further up the publishing chain. Awards and store recommendations matter. There is this whole system happening behind the books we eventually see sitting on a table or facing out on a shelf.

And then there is the reality of working there.

Customers can be wonderful or completely unreasonable. There are sales numbers, workplace politics and people above you making decisions that do not always make sense. Kyoko can genuinely love books and still wonder how much of herself she wants to keep giving to this job. She has not lost her love of books. She is tired of everything that has been wrapped around that love.

Haydn Trowell’s translation keeps the writing light and fast, and the comic timing really works. The Japanese bookstore and workplace culture come through clearly without ever making the story feel overexplained.

You may think you know where this is going.

But do you really?

Funny, warm, and a little more thoughtful than I expected. A good pick for readers who enjoy bookstore settings, workplace dynamics, and stories about women figuring out where they fit.

Worth the read

I received an eARC of How Can My Manager Be So Stupid? from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. All opinions are my own. Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Penguin Random House for the early read.

Where to Purchase

Bookshop.org. | Amazon. | Libro.fm