Amélie Nothomb, one of the most widely read French-speaking writers, is a good example of a cross-cultural writer. While stating repeatedly that being born in Japan means that Japan is like her own country, she at the same time considers herself primarily Belgian. This paradox is expressed very convincingly in her most widely read novel Fear and Trembling, which has sold in several million copies. In this novel, the narrator struggles with the many rigidities of a large Japanese company in which she tries to find her place. However, the reception of this autobiographical novel is more complex: it is governed simultaneously by its ethnographic value in its horizon of expectation, and by its humour, with the associated distancing that humour implies in its concretisations. Parallel to this, many assertions on Japan expressed by the author are so doubtful that they seem to strengthen prejudices against Japanese culture rather than make them disappear. The aim of this study is therefore initially to assess the validity of these claims and their role in the economy of the text and its reception. Beyond the truthfulness of this novel, it will be necessary to see how the ideas conveyed on the work culture of Japan, even if they are false, also help to forge a cross-cultural identity through a personal myth.