A quick, enjoyable read. Will definitely look out for more by the author. An interesting look at a different culture.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is about a woman who doesn't understand or follow normal rules.

“Irasshaimasé!”

I’m very late for my shift at the Smile Mart but I’m so glad to have finally walked through its doors. There have been eight managers and countless workers serving customers since it first opened eighteen years ago, but Keiko has been there from day one.

I really liked Keiko who, at thirty-six, has never fit into society’s mould. People have wanted to fix her since she was a child. But at the Smile Mart she feels like she fits perfectly.

While I suspect we’re all like this to a certain degree, Keiko’s speech and the way she dresses are an amalgam of the people she spends time with, morphing over time as new people enter her life and others fade away. Keiko doesn’t know how to be normal so it’s a good thing the Smile Mart manual clearly outlines how she is supposed to ‘human’ at work.

“When I first started here, there was a detailed manual that taught me how to be a store worker, and I still don’t have a clue how to be a normal person outside that manual.”

Over the course of this quick read the rhythm of the convenience store became almost meditative. It got to a point where it almost felt wrong to be reading about any of the hours Keiko wasn’t spending inside the “shining white aquarium” because she was so comfortable there.

I love Keiko‘s unfiltered honesty:

“When I first saw my nephew through the glass window at the hospital, he looked like an alien creature. But now he’d grown into something more humanlike, complete with hair.”

As someone who’s managed to accidentally subvert some of society’s adulting norms, I relate to the relief embodied in the following sentence:

“Good, I pulled off being a “person”.”

Quite frankly, that’s probably my favourite sentence of the entire book.

And I’m sure I’m not the first reader to think back on an early scene and fantasise about hitting Shiraha with a shovel.

Anyone who’s worked in retail will know Keiko’s coworkers and customers all too well. I worked in retail for seven years and so many of my coworkers and customers came to mind when I met Keiko’s.

Reading Convenience Store Woman actually had me wondering how my four years as Photolab Lady, in the days when negatives still existed and what you’d actually captured on film was one of life’s mysteries until you got it developed, would translate into a story. The stories I could tell about the photos I saw - some funny, some sweet, some heartbreaking, some creepy as hell …

I was really looking forward to this read and it was even better than I’d hoped. I definitely need more books by this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Portobello Books, an imprint of Granta Publications, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.

Unfortunately, this title was archived as soon as my request was approved. GIven the interest which this novel has raised, I still intend to buy the book and provide a review in due course, adjusting the rating below accordingly. For the moment I am giving the book my average rating.

I found Convenience Store Woman a lot more interesting than I initially thought I would, but it’s a classic example of a book that feels impersonal because it is just too short. It’s almost frustrating because the ideas within the plot are really good, and I reckon an extra 100 pages would have kicked it up a notch. At the length that it is, you barely have time to register who Keiko is as a person before it’s over. The novel is clearly a social commentary on conformism within society - in this case, Japanese society (although I definitely recognised some Western undertones) - and the pressure a woman is under to please those around her by conforming to these societal norms, even if it doesn’t suit her. But you barely see the struggle Keiko is under - even an extra 50 pages exploring her time unemployed would’ve been an improved. As it is, the message doesn’t come across as strongly as it could, and as a result, it’s not a very memorable book.

Lots of people described this as the Japanese _Eleanor Oliphant _ and i think that's a good way to start thinking of it, but stylistically it's completely different. It is, for me and my relatively limited exposure, intrinsically Japanese in style. A bit sparse, a bit dark but comic, unfiltered when it looks at its characters: there's not an embellishment of piece of flowery prose when saying it like it is will do.
For the plot, i enjoyed it, and i'm very glad i read it - though it probably didn't fill me like Eleanor Oliphant did, and i didn't feel i got to the root of things in quite the same way - but also that may be exactly the point, and part of the uniqueness of this one. We have a fleeting glimpse into a life we probably haven't experienced in the same way ourselves, and watch the fallibility of human nature unfold and change around circumstances.
It's a short, strange and memorable treat.

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this, I absolutely loved the first half. Keiko was an interesting if not slightly disturbing protagonist, her observations about working in a retail environment in Japan were insightful, and overall I was getting vibes of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

However, around the halfway point I felt that the author suddenly decided that this book needed a more interesting plot or to make a statement of some kind and, for me, it just went downhill from there. I don't know whether it was the author's intent or poor translation but the dialogue was stilted and the forced message about societal expectations was clumsy.

Overall I am disappointed in this book. Despite it's brevity, it took me months to go through it and sadly I wouldn't recommend it.

I was approved for this title back in Oct and logged in immediately to download it only to find that the title had already been archived with no way to download it.

PLEASE NOTE that my rating is not reflective of the book as I have not read it but NetGalley will not allow me to leave a review without adding a star rating and I want to move it out of my 'Leave Feedback' list.

Drawn from her own experiences as a part time convenience store worker, Murata's short tale a of a woman who finds solace and security in her part time job, a place for protagonist Keiko to mimic those around her and to shelter from the judgement of her peers, is nothing if not affecting and utterly compelling. At all points quite bizarre and in some places beautifully dark, Keiko's atypical behaviours and choices face the onslaught of interference from those that would see to her conforming to a 'normal' lifestyle, one where she is married and has a big job in the city. A weird, and brilliant, tale about pushing back and challenging social norms, the ending is incredible.

Convenience Store Woman is a pacy novella that follows 36-year old Keiko, who’s been working in a convenience store for 18 years. She’s never been a normal child and struggles with social relationships and reading social cues, but as a convenience store worker she’s found something she’s good at and gives her life purpose. But this peace is disrupted by nosy married friends who don’t understand why she chooses to be single, and feeling pressurised Keiko lets an ex-colleague move in with her as her beard.
This short book looks at many themes: what’s normal, identity, society and making peace with oneself and expectations others place on us and the extent to which we make compromises to ‘fit in.’
Keiko is a fascinating character and I got the impression she’s on the autism spectrum and is asexual. However I do wish this was clarified and fleshed out a bit further as I didn’t completely understand why Keiko is the way she is. On the whole an emotionally engaging read that resonates and highly recommended. 4/5

This title was reviewed on Splice on October 15, 2018: https://thisissplice.co.uk/2018/10/15/a-challenge-of-empathy-sayaka-muratas-convenience-store-woman.

Not a review as such, unfortunately the title was archived by the approval date. Will try and pick it up regardless as it does sound good. Thanks

Like a stranger Eleanor Oliphant, Convenience Store Woman is both entertaining and thought-provoking looking at the life of a lonely woman who works in a convenience store. Beautifully crafted and memorable.

This book enraged me. Not because I didn’t like it. It enraged me because it portrayed so perfectly and painfully the pressures of family, friends and society on someone who doesn’t fit into their definition of ‘normal’. How I dislike the word ‘normal’… I do!

Keiko is autistic? Perhaps, probably. I tried finding more background information about the book, about how Keiko was ‘born’ for the author but I didn’t get a firm answer to Keiko’s characteristics, so I am reluctant to box and label her no matter how clearly we are able to actually do so. In a way, even though Keiko is clearly wired differently, not having a firm label on her person makes the book more interesting in the way that it takes away from the immediate ‘judgement’ the reader can excuse Keiko’s behaviour behind. Maybe even allows the reader to approach the whole book in a different light.. I don’t know. I am probably over analyzing here. Yes, Keiko acted in a truly black and white manner, but she also observed… she learned through observation only how to fit into this society and into her friends and family’s life whilst everyone close to her lashed at her with a million shades of pity, frustration and judgement. Keiko has intelligence and she applies efficiently it to her very person because she wants to belong. Keiko has a slightly wonky moral dial but she learns the boundaries. Keiko doesn’t feel like 95% of the people around her feel. She doesn’t do emotions and emotions don’t do her. It’s like a nature’s way of serving balance- if no one thinks you fit in, you can’t feel the ugly sadness of it all.

Anywhoo… as I said, over analyzing me thinks!

Keiko felt like she needed to be fixed and corrected from an early age so she developed coping mechanisms. To fit in. But then, when she turned 18 she got a job at a convenience store and Keiko was reborn. She fit in perfectly- a quick study on store standards, customer care and always an arms-length away from the rest of the society with her stock greetings and answers and tasks, Keiko had found her comfort zone.

The Convenience Store Woman is a truly intriguing book. It’s a character study of how someone is eaten and spit out by a society that flows in the unified direction of mainstream standards and how anyone who isn’t a proper ‘cog in the machine’ will be shunned until they squeeze themselves into that very same, suffocating box. Reading this book felt like one of those classics that hold within them a dystopian prophecy. A society described that sounds ominous and yet completely realistic. It is realistic, it’s happening…

I did find out on during my brief research about the book that the author took up a job at a store to aid with the writing of the store atmosphere. Well, she nailed it. Murata makes stores of any shape and size sound interesting.. I feel like I want to go and hang out in a shop just to see if I can recognize the patterns of tasks that have been tutored to the workers, to see if I can crack the hierarchy of workers…

Anyone who’s ever worked at a customer-facing job will know that the world reveals all of its secrets when you see all of those people coming in, mingling, choosing, paying… It’s actually so fascinating because you can create a story about every one of these people… regulars, one offs. There is a million sides to one human being at any given day because everyone sees them differently at any given moment and as the book was in Keiko’s POV, it was easy to feel an emotional impact that words from co-workers and friends, family could potentially have. But all that Keiko had to truly rely on, a proven mehtod, was the ability to observe and translate emotions into facial expressions that she can use when appropriate. If someone made a face about being single t a certain age then that meant it was oh, so wrong for Keiko, too. Herd mentality. [insert a string of curses]

I was surprised when things turned up a notch for Keiko by introducing a love interest. Which wasn’t actually a love interest but well… again, think societal pressures and friends with husbands and babies and as you sit there in the middle of them without either you will be judged. For being less. For not doing your duty. For being a waste of space and clearly there is something fundamentally wrong with you…

The cynical and bitter young man introduced into Keiko’s life flowed in the same vein as the start of the book- trying to understand, bow to and ‘do the right thing’ for family, for society. It made steam come out of my freaking ears. I wanted to tell everyone to piss right off and leave Keiko be… so she can life life the way she bloody well wants and feels good about. But that young man offered a different kind of contrast and conflict to the story and Keiko’s whirlwind of a life trying to just be a stock version of a human being. I will give nothing else away- this guy needs to be read about from the book to believe!

Convenience Store Woman is a simple story with a simple setting but what a profound meaning it has. It’s a treasure chest of mirror-images from humanity. What a truly magnificent way to take a stab at society. I mean, this is what I took away from the book for myself, anyway. It’s about that age-old question of what is ‘normal’ and if you’re in any way different that means you’re not fully valuable as a human being, that you’re lower than the rest of them. This book stoked a fire in me! Love it!

This was a enjoyable novella translated from Japanese.
I really liked Keiko and could empathise with her desire to be in a job where everything ran like clockwork and she knew her place amongst the staff. She enjoyed the routine and the sounds and sights of the convenience store and felt that's where she belonged in life. I felt so sorry for her when she felt an outsider in her family because she reacted literally to things as a child, because she didn't understand the social norms. I thought she was very clever to subtly copy her colleagues speech and habits so she could fit in with them, rather wallow in being an outsider.
I read this book as not just story but also as a comment on social norms in Japan, and the rest of the world, where you must be married and have a proper job to be accepted as normal. You couldn't be single, in a simple job where you were happy but had to be married have children and make lots of money.
A book to definitely make you think about what life is about and what it really should be about.

This is a strange read but I liked it, it has that weird edge of society feeling that a lot of Japanese books have, If you like Banana Yoshimoto or Haruki Murakami you’ll like this.

*I requested a copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review*

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was one of my anticipated books of 2018. An eccentric convenience store worker who does something out of character? I was expecting a lot from this book. What I did get was a simple story - the decision she doesn’t happen until the latter half of the 160+ page book - but written very well.

I was expecting more from it, in a way. I thought it would focus more on the decision and be plot driven, but it centers on the character instead. Sayaka Murata writes her protagonist in a detatched way, which was fitting for the personality of the character.

What is normal behaviour? Who determines what is normal behaviour? Should you make yourself feel miserable in order to conform to society’s standards of what normal behaviour look like?

This interesting short novel gets to the heart of these questions and also takes a The fundamental look at who we think we are and if our self changes over time. Are we merely a composite of the people around us? The Convenience Store is continuously changing, with new staff and products yet we perceive it to be the same over time.

This is a deceptively simple novella, its bright yellow cover (kudos to the designer here) tempting readers inside like a strip-lit corner shop before introducing us to Keiko Furukura and her ultra-literal first-person perspective.

CSW deserves to be read several times to fully appreciate the skill of Sayaka Murata's prose (and Ginny Tapley Takemori's translation). With each re-reading a new layer is revealed offering profound ideas about society that apply just as much to the West as to the East, asking what exactly we consider 'normal', what we do to fit in and how we treat those that don't.

There are parts of CSW that are a delight, particularly Keiko's response to the gruesomely misanthropic Shiraha. Read a little closer, though, and a darkness emerges in the characterisation - cut flowers are likened to 'corpses'; a baby's cheek is 'strangely soft, like stroking a blister' - images that stay with you long after reading, hinting at Keiko's hidden depths.

Murata resists cliche by giving CSW the ending that an idiosyncratic character like Keiko deserves rather than your average happy-ever-after denouement. Keiko might be far from what society would consider as 'normal', but then, who is?

Many thanks to the publisher for the PDF copy sent for review. I loved this book so much I went out & bought a hard copy. One for the home library!

Posted on Zerofiltersaurus.wordpress.com-
The plot (in a spoiler-free nutshell): Keiko works in a convenience store. Keiko likes working in a convenience store. She is judged for this. She also likes living alone and being unmarried, and has never been in love. She is judged for this too. Keiko's story is one about loneliness and belonging, of society's expectations, the roles we are expected to fulfil and how people react to the rebellious action of being oneself.


Type of book: So much talk of food, is it dinner time yet? 🍱


The author: Sayaka Murata, who had a big hit in Japan with Convenience Store Woman.


What drew me in was...that cover! If that ain’t a bold cover then I don’t know what is.


You should read this if...you fit either of Keiko’s criteria- ‘From where I stood, there were two types of prejudiced people—those who had a deeprooted urge for prejudice and those who unthinkingly repeated a barrage of slurs they’d heard somewhere’ - and you seek to be less judgy/horrid.


You shouldn’t read this if...you think ‘The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects. Anyone who is lacking is disposed of. So that’s why I need to be cured. Unless I’m cured, normal people will expurgate me’ is what any decent person should think. (They are the kind of people who would think that chocolate-melon soda shouldn’t be a thing, I bet)


I loved this because...Keiko is my favourite kind of character: oddly unique, hilarious, criticised and judged for being herself, which, despite much resistance, she maintains with full vigour and refuses to mould herself to society’s expectations. Keiko doesn’t really ‘get’ what it means to be like everyone else, which is a relief, because, if she becomes like everyone else then she would lose everything that makes her her. Paradoxically, I think we should all be like Keiko - be yourself.


The not so good thing about this novel is...Keiko comparing her nephew’s cheek to a blister, which don’t get me wrong is cracking imagery, but it’s a bit difficult after reading this not to compare someone’s skin to a blister.


The line that real retail staff are most likely to say: "Ugh, it’s just like a religion!”


The line that real retail staff are least likely to ever copy: "We pledge to provide our customers with the best service and to aim to make our store the beloved store of choice in the area.”


Rating 5⭐️


Final thoughts: Irasshaimasé!


Convenience Store Woman was published on 5th July 2018 by Portobello Books. Thank you to Sayaka Murata, Portobello and NetGalley for the ARC.