Confessions of a Convenience Store Clerk

Novel about a Japanese convenience store clerk (for 18 years) who could never assimilate herself in society as a “normal” human being. She worked at the store during college and found her niche. Her family tried to help her as a child but nothing worked. It's really a quirky, sweet, poignant and sometimes funny book. She adopts other people's mannerisms, syntax, fashion, etc. to fit in. In a last ditch attempt to appear normal to those around her she has a male loser/freeloader (who once worked at the store) move in with her so that people would think she was in a relationship; and, quit her job to get a real one. In the end, she couldn't do either. She realized she was a “convenience store animal” and that was good enough for her.