As soon as I finished reading Akinari Asakura’s The Final Six, I took a deep breath and reflected upon the Japanese proverb, “Hito no furi mite waga furi naose” (Watch others’ behaviour and correct your own behaviour.) The story is about six finalists selected out of 5,000 applicants for Japan’s top tech company, Spiralinks.
All six of them, Shogo Hatano, Iori Shima, Sota Kuga, Ryo Hakamada, Tsubasa Yashiro, Kimihiko Morikubo seem bright and super eager to get into the job. Intially they are told by the HR that all of them can scrore the high salaried job, however, things take a turn when the rules of their ‘group discussion’ change. Now, only one of them would be able to make the cut and the task of selecting the “winner” is assigned to the six of them.
This novel will remind everyone about their own struggles while job hunting. The cut throat competition, the masks people wear, the fake smiles, the lies, and back stabbings that generally occur are the highlight of this book.
Out of the characters, Shogo Hatano and Iori Shima stand out and the novel is told from both their perspectives.
In its 275 pages, The Final Six offers a roller coster of emotions to the reader. You’ll smile, fall in love with some characters, hate some of them only to have your opinions (judgements) about them shift as each layer of their personalities is peeled off and root for each one of them.
Akinari’s build up is very slow. The writer shows the reader one side, only to flip the narrative and introduce a “twist” once you read the exact same scenario from another perspective. This kind of engaging wrting requires skill as well as a profound understanding of human psychology. Without giving away any spoliers, the “white envelopes” are a character in their own right.
One has to be extremely patient to get to the part in the novel when it becomes unputdownable. Dubbed as “The Squid Game” of the corportate world, this book is far from it.
It is a standalone piece of drama, suspense, love and above all sacrifice.
The Final Six dwells into the time one spends giving interviews, reading up about companies, the thought that goes into selecting outfits for the various rounds, the high expectations one has from various companies, the illusion of HRs being capable enough to decide if one is worthy to work in a particular company or not. It a striking commentary on both potentials employees and their employers.
There is something very special about stories set in Japan. We get a glimpse of the country’s beautiful culture and everyday life and also the harsh reality of how work life balance is absent there.
Every question that the reader’s mind will spring is answered neatly and to the point. Thankfully, there are zero cliff hangers. This is what I loved the most about this book.
Special mention to Haydn Trowell who has translated the book from Japanese to English. Everyone who has ever been job hunting must read this one. I promise, you will finish the last page with a smile.
Book: The Final Six
Author: Akinari Asakura
Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 288
Price: Rs 599
