"In the old Japanese imperial protocol, it is stipulated that it is for the emperor with shock and trembling": it is through these words, written almost at the end of the novel and that give the book its title , the author provides confirmation that Japan is a country of undeniable cultural difference, when compared to those of our European civilizations. Through her heroine, Amélie-San, Amélie Nothomb speaks of a country as attractive as surprising airtight. Amélie-San is a young woman full of resources and ambition, but will not happen as she had hoped. His desire and will to move up the lead to understand that it is in a country where they have to do with the "protocol" namely sovereign hierarchy in the Japanese company on one hand and the mindset and Japanese traditions of the other. A business where it is difficult to get a place when one is a woman, where it is essential to ask the same permission for "update the calendars." The tone is full of ironic humor, the book reads easily and quickly, the cartoon is well established, the theme is pretty well exploited but this is not my favorite author nor that of his books to me enjoy most.
