In this quick-witted and observant novel F=from the Akutagawa Prize-winning author of Snakes and Earrings, a middle-aged publishing professional whose life is bound by self-made rules and routines becomes undone when she meets an outspoken, iconoclastic, fun-loving twenty-something editor.

Ayano Hamano has worked her humdrum desk job in the labor relations department of her publishing company for years, and her personal life is just as boring. She spends each evening watching the same streaming service and eating the same dinner, and goes to work at the same time every day. Ayano likes her comfortable and monotonous routine and takes great pains to keep it that way. But when her boss asks her to check in on Naori Hiraki, a young editor who has been working from home with a sprained ankle, she begrudgingly visits Naori's apartment.

With her blue hair and penchant for skateboarding to work, free-spirited Naori is Ayano's complete opposite. But her sincerity and sense of fun quickly win the reserved Ayano over, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Quickly sucked into Naori's wonderful world, Ayano is soon walking on the wild side: attending crazy concerts, even imagining a future with a charming new man—awakening deep and dormant emotions inside her. As Ayano's self-made rules steadily disintegrate, a new and surprising version of herself emerges.

A fast-paced, funny, and surprisingly heartwarming story, Natural Born Chicken is a reminder of the joy that awaits when one seizes the courage to change their life.

Translated from the Japanese by Yuki Tejima