This was a really peculiar little book. I'm not sure what I thought I was getting into, but I don't think I was quite prepared for Keiko when I started reading. She operates on a completely different level than the rest of society, and her internal musings often come in jarring contrast to the rest of the world's (and my) expectations.

Since she started working at the convenience store at age 18, Keiko has reveled in the comfort and consistency of the tightly controlled environment. She does her job extraordinarily well, living her whole life in harmony with the store. She's picked up some brilliant strategies for blending in with others, but now that she's getting older, people are starting to scrutinize a little more. At the same time, a new employee disrupts the status quo by loudly voicing his own unpopular opinions about society. What follows is a bizarre, thoughtful, and sometimes hilarious exploration of the rules of society and how we treat people who don't fit in.

I honestly don't know how to recommend this book, but I'm glad I read it.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know what’s the exact meaning in Japanese, but the "convenience” word used here captured the essence of the book perfectly - such a versatile word with so many meanings.

We have an awkward 36 years old woman, who is working at this convenience store for the past 18 years. She never had a boyfriend, nor other job than this. As a child, she was different than the rest, to the point her parents took her to a psychologist. She used to think out of the box, being pragmatic and with a practical solution for everything, even if most of the times, the solutions were unorthodox, to say the least (these were also the funniest moments of the story for me).

But because everybody thought she was different than the rest, she tried all her life to keep appearances and finding this job suited her perfectly at the time, along with different excuses used when people start asking questions about her linear life. When questions became too many, she finds another solution to fit in: a convenience relationship.

For such a small book, it has so many layers: it’s about today’s judgmental society, about our working selves - who are taking their tolls on our personal life and free time - and ultimately, about the compromises we make to fit society and have some peace of mind.

Despite the fact that I didn’t approve some of the choices she made, I resonated with her completely in the end. Afterall, one’s life is one’s life and we should not care about what others say; everybody should construct their life as they see fit; we live our lives, not other’s and viceversa.

And even though is kind of sad on occasion, it also has its moments of black humor; fine irony at today’ society, with its rigid and prejudiced mentality, is present all over the story. The writing is fluent and balanced, easy to follow - a couple of hours reading, worthy all the way.

This was a wonderful, short story. The main character is on the autistic spectrum and has trouble figuring out people or society. Society's norms makes question what she should do with her life. All she wants to do is work at a convenience store but she's considered too old. I loved reading her journey over her struggle with doing what society wants and what she really wants.

Japan’s convenience stores are things of wonder so I jumped at the chance to read a book that perfectly captures Japanese convenience store culture. Convenience Store Woman by Sakaya Murata has attained critical acclaim in Japan since its release in 2016, but its English translation won’t be available until the mid-June. It follows a woman named Keiko, who is a bit of an oddball. She lacks the ambition of her peers and is uninterested in romantic relationships; instead, she lives and breathes her job at a convenience store. She has been there eighteen years and running, satisfied with the order and routine this work provides her. One day, when a new employee is added to the roster, Keiko’s life is given a shake up and she finds herself pondering how she might better meet society’s expectations. I very much enjoyed this little book. It’s a perfect mix of quirky and charming, with a small touch of darkness.

The plot of the story is interesting at the same time unusual and a bit weird. It definitely shows a side of human nature often overlooked and purposely ignored.

Very poignant book and very well written tbor ok highly enjoyed

Convenience Store Woman is a charming novel about a quirky and socially inept character who defies convention, baffling everyone around her.

When Keiko Furukura starts working at a convenience store during her time at university, she feels that she has finally found somewhere she belongs. She loves the predictability of stocking the shelves, counting out bills, and talking with regular customers. Pulling from the behavior of her colleagues, she’s able to piece together the appearance of what people expect of a woman her age.

But eighteen years later, both her family and her co-workers at the convenience store wonder why she hasn’t found a husband and moved on from the store. As their questioning becomes more insistent, Keiko is faced with the decision to conform or to live the life she wants to live.

Murata brings to the page a penetrating look at Japanese culture and the pressure many feel to conform. The woman she creates in this novel is a pleasure to spend time with. Looking at the world through her eyes offers a fresh perspective on tradition and expectations.

Convenience store woman is a simple little story about Keiko Furukura a totally quirky hopelessly inept character but in a totally charming and sweet way. She’s a character that defies societies norms by bucking the traditional role designated for women that require them to have a “proper” or “normal” job, a husband and children by a certain age. I felt a deep sadness for Keiko always being subjected to judgement and how she was always making excuses for her life choices. I felt a real tug on my heartstrings. I ended up totally in love with this character. So many times I wanted to wrap Keiko up in cotton wool and protect her from those relentless judgemental eyes. Reading this made me angry, really angry! The fact this was set in Japan also made me love this book just that little bit more as I adore the Japanese culture, and the few books I’ve read from there have always been a delight. What first appears to be a simple story of a simple woman living her simple life really becomes an examination of society’s pressures and the damage it can cause people who don’t fit in to that mould. This book may be small in size but it has a big heart.

4 quirky stars to Convenience Store Woman! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Keiko was always a little different in her parents’ eyes. When she went to college, she got a job at a local convenience store. She tried her best to fit in by copying the other employees there, from their clothing to their mannerisms. Life passes by, and many years later, Keiko is still working at the convenience store. No one around Keiko is comfortable with her choice to stay there, but she is content...until she tries her best to change.

The messages here about conforming are profound. Poor Keiko goes down the rabbit hole of trying to meet everyone else’s expectations.

This is a short book, an easy read, and there’s a character to try to understand who will probably work her way right into your heart!

Thank you to my Goodreads friend, Taryn, for the recommendation to read Keiko’s story!

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic, the publisher of the most unique and quirky, well-written books, Sayaka Murata, and Netgalley for the copy. Convenience Store Woman will be published on June 12, 2018.

I used to live in Japan and I used to frequent the convenience stores often. So different from anywhere else. I really connected with this story and it helped me relive some great memories! Really cute story!

The moment I finished reading this story - I immediately wanted to know everything about the author- Sayaka Murata. WHO IS SHE? I was screaming inside about how WONDERFUL she must be.

This book is a GEM!!!!! Awe-inspiring writing — irresistible—and weirdly outlandish!

My gosh...I had the best laugh when I discovered that ‘our author’ —-one of Japan’s most exciting contemporary writers—[I AGREE,I AGREE] —‘really’ works as a part time employee in a convenience store. Talk about material for inspiration— Sayaka has first hand experience. Cracks me up! I love it!

I love Japanese Literature anyway ....and Sayaka’s storytelling is so marvelous- with humor - complexity of conformity- that I just can’t stop smiling about this slim ADORABLE - but ALSO VERY AFFECTING....( with sad undercurrents)...novel.
Who WOULDN’T enjoy reading this? I can’t imagine anyone not being consumed by it.

What stands out to me about our main character - Keiko ( self- acclaimed different )- who has worked in the convenient store for 18 years, watching other university students come and go....and managers come and go....
is how deliciously self aware Keiko is. This girl is ‘not’ stupid.
I felt that even when Keiko copied the styles of fashion - and language
-jargon of others - demonstrating that she ‘could’ blend in—that mostly she was at peace with herself exactly the way she was. There are many ways to look at this story — the illusions about what society calls normal - and our human agreements about what’s considered a successful life or not...etc.

I adore Keiko. I hope the author writes more books about her. I’d love to continue to follow Keiko again. I miss her already. Honestly- I can imagine a dozen stories centered around Keiko!

The other thing that makes this book so special is ‘THE FEELING/THE AURA’ we ‘experience’. A GEM I tell ya, a precious gem! ......leaving us with much to think about!

*HIGHLY RECOMMEND*...it’s a quick treasure of a read!

Thank You Grove Atlantic, Netgalley, and Sayaka Murata ( I’m a new fan!!!)

Based on this cover, and the fact that it's a Japanese novel (does this count as a light novel?), I expected something that was a pleasant slice of live piece or a surreal magical realism story. It was neither of those. It starts pleasantly enough but then unfolds into a story of what seemed like a case of undiagnosed autism, or just plain old social awkwardness finding their niche in a corporate handbook and meeting the Japanese equivalent of an MRA loser. Not the most inspiring thing, but this is what happens, I suppose, when you write a quirky story with relatively unlikable characters. At the core of what the characters rail against or try to comply to is that yes, Japanese society has certain expectations that one cannot escape.

Keiko is different. When she was a child and the other kids found a dead bird and wanted to have a funeral for it, she suggested that they take it home and cook it. At 36 years old, she has lived alone and worked part-time in a convenience store for 18 years. Can she ever conform to what society wants a woman to be? Is having a man in her life, even a parasitic loser, better than living alone? Will she ever fit in? Does she even want to? A reflection on society’s expectations, particularly of women, this novel, translated from Japanese, is undoubtedly one of the most unusual and thought-provoking books I have ever read.

Keiko Furukura is an unusual character.

Really, she's almost sociopathic at times. She truly has no idea how to behave as a social human being. She only knows that she makes people supremely uncomfortable. She's not completely cold - she doesn't want others to be uncomfortable and she wants to blend in, so she becomes a mimic.

She mimics the way people dress, laugh, and talk - all in an effort to disguise herself as being just like everyone else. However, she laughs a little to hard. Her demonstration of anger she doesn't really feel (but thinks it may suit an occasion) - over the top and exaggerated.

Her most successful mask? That of the convenience store woman.

In the confines of the store, Furukura is the perfect mimic. Her voice is at the right tone. Her smile just right. Her nails, her purse, everything is simply perfect.

And she's content.

But Furukura realizes that people still find her odd because at her age, she is supposed to have a man. So just like she arranges her clothes, voice, and hair into a perfect mimicry, she arranges this...and it isn't at all what she thinks it will be like.

In this odd little book, author Sayaka Murata looks at the roles played by both women and men in modern Japanese society...and forces us to look at the roles we play in our everyday lives. Are you the perfect office worker? The perfect parent? And how much of it is real and how much just our own form of mimicry.

The book is both ephemeral and horrifying. Expect that some moments will be shocking and others strictly bizarre, but it's a wonderful read.

This one just didn’t work for me. A third of the way into it and this story is a detailed study of the Japanese convenience store. Didn’t finish this one.

This is such a strange and unexpected little book. It’s focus is a an awkward 36 year old woman who works at a convenience store while trying to perfect an outward appearance of normality. Murata’s book delves deeply into issues of societal and gender expectations and the people who don’t fit into that mold. I was surprisingly pleased with this book and it’s strange “happy ending”.

Could You Scream A Little More Quietly, Please?

Many of the Japanese books I've read in translation follow a similar pattern - they can be mild and rather delicate, making points obliquely and without much fuss. Sometimes they are almost apologetic, and it may be their spare indirection and subtlety that makes them so interesting and enjoyable. Well, this book starts out very much in that style, but then it circles back to a cry of, what? - pain, anguish, stubborn individualism?

The book opens with Keiko. In her thirties, she is unmarried, a virgin, and perfectly content in her all-consuming role as a worker in a convenience store. Keiko, literal-minded, lacking even a scrap of ambition, and totally uninterested in community or social norms, is, if not happy, at least content and satisfied to have her life defined exclusively by her role as a convenience store worker. In one brilliant passage she realizes that every meal she eats is either at or from the store, and every sip of water she drinks is either at or from the store, and for all practical purposes her physical body has been made entirely from the items for sale at the convenience store. She is, literally, the store.

SPOILERS. Keiko's world is shaken up by the arrival of a lazy, angry, confused young man who is happy to blame all of his personal failures on the unreasonable demands of society that one conform to standards of marriage, work, success, and parenting. He plays on Keiko's fear, or suspicion, that maybe she should conform as well, and so insinuates himself into Keiko's life as a sort of "beard". Here's where the book, despite not in any fashion changing its calm and modulated tone, becomes riveting. Will Keiko buckle under to society's expectations; will one of these characters transform into someone different and perhaps grander or lesser? Who really knows what's going on and who is using whom? All becomes clear in an ending that feels like a scream, but before that we are treated to a wide range of withering sketches of the people inside the norm who berate those on the outside. (And all that aside, just as a workplace comedy, which this is for the first half, Keiko's observations about work and interactions with co-workers are just priceless.)

As I say, a far cry from pastel flowers and mild murmurs. This book is witty, insightful, vinegary, and bracing, while always presenting a modest face. Keiko is sort of an idiot-savant of social norms and personal relationships, and she ends up as a fascinating character.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Keiko Furukura lives an atypical life. At thirty-six-years-old, she's a virgin and completely disinterested in romantic relationships. She has worked part-time at a Japanese convenience store for eighteen years. Her family was thrilled when she was first employed because they saw it as a sign of her growth as a person. Keiko has always been considered peculiar, but the job helped her finally become an "ordinary person." The convenience store is "a dependable, normal world" where she's valued as an equal amongst her coworkers and receives no scrutiny about her personal life. Best of all, there's a written manual that tells her exactly how she needs to behave! She absorbs the personalities of her coworkers and uses them to construct her own "normal person" identity: "Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human." Everyone assumed that the convenience store was just the first step in Keiko's journey to bigger and better things, but she's still in the same spot almost two decades later. The biggest sign of her evolution has become additional evidence of her deficiencies.

Keiko's unconventional lifestyle causes discomfort for everyone around her. She's such an anomaly! Her family and friends are always trying to fix her, but she feels perfectly fine the way she is. The only thing that causes her discomfort is everyone else's judgment! She has a stockpile of vague prepared answers to defuse awkward situations, but those answers aren't working anymore as she ages. Keiko values her relationships and doesn't want to be cut off from her social groups, so she decides that it might be easier to just meet their demands. She doesn't even have to lie! She announces a life change and everyone fills in the blanks based on the standard story. Sadly, she realizes she never really belonged at all, even with the people she felt the most comfortable. As she takes a single step into normalcy, even her safe places become places of scrutiny.  Succumbing to one societal demand just leads to more expectations. Keiko notices that having a troubled normal life is more acceptable than having a content abnormal life.

At 176 pages, this darkly quirky novel is a quick read. Japanese convenience stores sound amazing! I never thought I'd want to visit another country and immediately run to a convenience store! The language is plain and some of the concepts were mentioned repetitively, but I adored Keiko. She has a cold, logical attitude, but I felt so warm towards her (despite some of her darker inclinations)! I really liked the relationship between Keiko and her sister and how it evolved throughout the story.This little novel also tapped into some deep rage! Keiko encounters frequent misogyny throughout the story. Keiko's experiences triggered memories of rude comments I received when I was a romantic late bloomer, during a brief stint at Taco Bell, and while I was pursuing an art degree. Even when I got a great design job right out of college, one of my professors responded, "Oh well! We all have to start somewhere!" Those experiences made me feel extra empathetic towards Keiko. The awkward scenes where Keiko is singled out made me cringe!

The convenience store mirrors life; the parts change, but the whole stays the same. Perhaps we're still trapped in old-fashioned social paradigms, even though we tend to see ourselves as more evolved than people from past eras. An innate "manual" is passed on to everyone for centuries: get married, have babies, make more money. Anyone who doesn't meet those standards must be persuaded to take the correct path or be ostracised. Of course, even if you meet those standards, there's always something else to obtain. When it comes to making everyone happy, the goalposts are constantly moving! Keiko also notices there's always someone lower in the hierarchy. People who feel attacked find their own people to lash out at. Everyone, even her equals, is vocal about what's wrong with Keiko and what she needs to do to succeed. Will Keiko be able to drown out all the voices and accept her true calling or will she conform to societal demands? 

Convenience Store Woman is a strange little book with an interesting protagonist! If you like this book, I think you might also like Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes.

With Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata delivers insightful commentary on how individuals connect with both their roles as workers and members of their given society.