Convenience Store Woman: A Novel

A quick read, and I couldn't put it down. Keiko is very different from other humans, and she's aware of that and tries to fit in, not wishing to rock her family's boat. Her younger sister adores her and as they get older, gives her phrases to use in certain social situations. They protect Keiko by helping her fit in, but since the book is written in first person, and Keiko never mentions a diagnosis, we're left to wonder what exactly is her problem. Some readers have suggested she's a sociopath, and in the non-lethal sense, I lean that direction too. Keiko isn't malevolent, but there are a couple of scenes that carry great foreboding, and you see how she could be very dangerous.The author does a great job of not telling us what the truth is, but rather letting us walk around in Keiko's skin as she observes the other humans around her. From this we pick up hints that Keiko isn't passing for normal as much as she believes. When she gets a man in her life, the metaphoric aspects of the story deepen. For all her weirdness, and for all his toxic unsuitability, the people around her relax and accept her more. They celebrate that she is now part of a couple.The entire theme of the story, in my mind, and as some other commentors have said, is "what we have to do to meet societal expectations." A subtext of this theme is gender roles: what men and women are expected to do. As a flesh-and-blood human adult with the emotional capability of a 2-year-old, Keiko is nevertheless adept at mimicry. So she studies humans and copies their sentences, their voices, and their behaviors in order to fit in. Failure to do so will result in expulsion from the body, much like a bad meal. Over and over again, Keiko sees her existence as a cell within a body (her immediate social surroundings), and compliance means she gets to remain within the body. The metaphor is almost chilling, but the story while dark isn't unhappy. It even has a happy ending, a nice positive (if abrupt) character arc for Keiko.What I took away from CSW is that we need to be more accepting of those humans among us who aren't "normal." What I enjoyed the most about it was walking around inside the head of a sociopath. An intriguing, compelling short novel.

I'm not sure if Japanese society is only just starting to recognize and critique conformity, but the conflicts in here come off as very trite, turning this into a simplistic reworking of what American existentialism and counterculture movements already grappled with back in the 60s. The main character reads as autistic or on the spectrum, but this is never really explored--I don't know whether this was intentional by the author in order to mimic Japan's prevailing lack of awareness towards autistic people, or if the character was unconsciously coded that way with no exploration into underlying reasons for her behavior. Regardless of the intent, the book feels unfinished, and the characters are two-dimensional. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's already dove deep into existential literature, as there isn't much here that we haven't already heard.

Convenience Store Woman is a slim, unsettling novel with a dark sense of humor that is largely one-note in its tone and premise: The novel represents the everyday life of Keiko Furukawa a single, middle-aged woman in one of Japan’s ubiquitous 24-hour convenience stores. She has been working as a basic employee for eighteen years, ever since graduating high school. Working at these stores has become the narrator’s reason for living, which seems to trouble almost everyone but herself.The novel does not have an elaborate plot and the drama and tension largely comes from the narrator’s observation of her own life and others as a convenience store employee. But for those who may be looking to read the book because of this conceit, the personality of the narrator may make or break how and whether or not you read the book. While I recommend the book, the book’s narrator main character Keiko Furukawa is depicted as a person who, to quote the character herself: "would no longer do anything of my own accord, and would either just mimic what everyone else was doing, or simply follow instructions."In both childhood flashbacks and repeated interjections throughout the novel it is repeatedly mentioned how “emotionless” Keiko feels she is and how she sees herself more as a vessel and a representation of the emotions and mores of her environment. Murata often makes it a point to frame Keiko's thoughts and behaviors in each scene to deliberately highlight how both emotionless and nonplussed Keiko can be toward life. Keiko's personality and the reader’s is tested when Keiko enters an unorthodox relationship with a toxic and verbally abusive man. This man is seen as a failure by family, former neighbors and coworkers. In his rage, he sees not just women but all people and the world itself as having personally wronged him. Her relentless tolerance of this poisonous individual and his abuse tests her patience and likely will for some readers as well.The novel’s sardonic humor and grim depiction of the constant pressure for women to get married and have children is a lasting one. I came to see the comedy from the drama of working as a cog in the 24/7 low-wage, high-turnover convenience store world as second to the determinedly emotionless way the narrator sees the world.At 163 pages in the compact hardcover, it is a quick read. I was able to finish the book in a single sitting. Ginny Tapley Takemori’s translation of Murata’s prose is unfussy and delivers the main character’s dry and often deadpan voice simply.

Our heroine, Keiko, is a first person character who describes her world from an autistic perspective. She studies her colleages, family and friends in order to create a facsimile of "normality" that they will find acceptable. Her family desperately want her to be "fixed" but she is perfectly happy as she is and does not know what it is they think needs fixing; no-one can explain it to her. She has found the perfect place for her working in a convenience store, yet her family and friends are all desperate for her to conform to the Japanese norms - every woman must get married or have a "proper" career. I enjoyed Keiko's struggles with her society's expectations, and the social pressures placed on single women. The writing is very stripped back and deceptively simple as it critiques the world through Keiko's eyes without seeming to condemn. Ultimately this is a delightful celebration of the need to be yourself rather than allow yourself to be ruled by others' expectations and inflexibilities.

This being a short novel I thought I would have finished it quickly, however I've had to really force myself to finish it. I liked the message, at least the message that I got from it, which is basically to do what makes you happy inspite of society's expectations, however the story could have been better. I really didn't take to any of the characters, it's usually quite easy to form a picture of characters in a novel and they become quite familiar, however they were all pretty unlikeable. On the front cover there's a review saying 'Haunting, dark, and often hilarious...' I didn't find myself laughing much at all. I think that I had very different expectations going into this and wonder if it would be more enjoyable in Japanese. I did actually like the ending, but for me most of the book plodded and I don't feel like it was worth the time.

This is billed as being 'dark' and 'haunting', but having read this book I can't work out why. It is a brief exploration of Japanese cultural expectations and the experience of somebody who sits outside of these. Keiko takes pleasure in her symbiotic relationship with the shop in which she works, and this was surprisingly enjoyable to read about - the different products and the fluctuations in their sales. This was the more gentle side to the book, and paints Keiko as a simple but thorough person. Then the reader realises she is very isolated and lost in a world of mimicry and confusion. There is an odd paradox where she seems to be impervious to the opinions of others, but is also a slave to trying to fit in. However, I also found her co-workers rather strange, especially their reactions to Keiko and they way they treat her, whilst she is clearly excluded from their social lives, their reactions when she hands in her notice are bizarre.My favourite observation of the book is that people love to make up their own narratives of other peoples' lives, and often don't even realise they are doing it.The book, like the protagonist, is simple and unusual, and draws on the pleasures of minutiae without being overly dull.

I should think that most reviewers have used the word 'quirky' somewhere and - to be honest - it's hard to resist.The translation has been well done and the tone of the writing retains echoes the unselfconscious narrator. A straightforward plot which won't confuse or bewilder, meaning that the reader can just enjoy the ride and the gradual character revelation.It's pretty short, so would make a good book on your commute, weekend away, or just a lazy armchair read on a rainy day.If you like indie movies, you'll probably like this.

This is a strange, quirky novel which, although short in length, offers lots to think about. Our central character is Keiko, who has always felt as though she didn’t belong. Her behaviour, even as a young girl, was odd and her parents tried to get her to fit in. However, she finds life difficult and usually copies those around her – taking social cues to help her fit in.She has worked at a local convenience store for eighteen years. This job started while she was a student, but, at thirty six, she has not moved on and, although perfectly happy in her work, it is obvious that she is not fulfilling the role that society has set out for her. She is not married, feels no warmth towards babies, and is content to remain single.This is an interesting look at what happens when people do not fit into the roles expected to them and how they are viewed. As someone who worked for a Japanese company for a number of years, I could see how Keiko would have been under immense pressure to conform. It was also a interesting look at the humble convenience store – not viewed by most of us, I am sure, as a thing of great beauty, but, in Keiko’s eyes, raised above the humble station it normally inhabits in our thoughts. A really unusual book, which I am pleased that I read.