Convenience Store Woman
Ratings602
Average rating3.7
Sometimes, you just have to let people do what they are comfortable with. Let them live their life on their own.
this is a really, really good book
but I didn't think, at any point in the book, that it was ‘funny' or ‘hilarious'
it reflects our society, how it expects us to behave in a certain way
but also how our jobs can erase our humanity, to become robots
2.5/5
there's potential here..!!! autism in such a highly conformative culture like japan feels like such an interesting concept to tackle but the author flubs it and the story ultimately goes nowhere.
A quirky little book with a really nice message. Maybe a little bit too quirky for me, as much as I enjoyed the satirical writing. The simplicity of it delivers the point nicely though, and I honestly think the ending is absolute perfection in its ambiguity.
despite (in addition to?) some odd-in-english sentence structures resulting from it being a translated work, i thoroughly enjoyed this quick little read. might even be a contender for my limited shelf space.
A nice short read about a woman who's doing what she loves but is constantly told she isn't doing enough
When something was strange, everyone thought they had the right to come stomping in all over your life to figure out why.
Convenience Store Woman
Though this book was an interesting read I found that it fell into the resolution trap with the ending seeming to be rushed. The big win for me was how it showed and tried to explain modern Japan's expectations, culture, and ideas.
One thing that was used to show expectations was for someone to conform like getting married and trying to achieve status in the community this was where the ending was ruined for me with the main protagonist bowing to social and peer pressure to conform though they seemed relatively happy with a lower class of employment. It starts out with the character being seemingly comfortable with their like working in a convenience store which in modern society I would class as essential work but is looked down upon by others.
Overall an interesting read apart from the ending of social compliance.
What a weird little book. I feel like there's a lot I'm not really understanding - it feels very Japanese - but there's good too. Three stars seems harsh, but four is too generous. Keiko is odd and trying to fit in, but learns to accept who she is. I wish she'd gotten there differently, but sometimes we need to be shaken up to realize what we have, who we are.
Keiko Furukura has worked in a convenience store for 18 years. It is the only part of her life that gives her meaning and purpose, predictability and certainty. Keiko's eternal struggle is to appear normal to the people around her to gain acceptance. Keiko does this by paying close attention to social norms and cues, and her attention to detail makes her mask and camouflage adequately.
This short novella explores a lot in its brief pages: the reliance on and comfort to be found in the predictability of consumer capitalist culture, alexithymia, neurodivergence (perhaps Keiko is autistic or lives with antisocial personality disorder?), agency, meaning and purpose, social and gender norms, asexuality and aromanticism, heteronormativity, incel culture and toxic masculinity.
Murata's talent seems to be in revealing how experiences or thoughts a reader may think are unique or individual, even unusual, are actually symptomatic of something more universal and human.
I really liked the ending of the story. Keiko's ultimate empowerment challenges us to rejoice in her rejection of and escape from toxic masculinity and expected gender roles, and yet we feel eerily haunted by her finding salvation and delight in being a cog in the consumer capitalist machine - a role in which she accepts and delights in having no gender and being closer to animal than human.
But are these latter feelings inherent to Keiko or are they really a product of her social exclusion and alienation?
Ugh there's so much to unpack here, and that it Murata's brilliance: starting a conversation.
My good friend Allison was starting this, so I had to jump in and read it as well. I might have been a bit too hasty, because I read it in one sitting. (sorry A!) It's short, incredibly captivating, a bit strange, funny in places, and has quite a bit to say.
I really enjoyed it!
Keiko is a convenience store worker. She has been working at a local shop for 18 years, and although society might point to her and think she's wasting away at a dead-end job, she relishes the systematic occupation. Her family and acquaintances want to match her up and think that life (in general) revolves around meeting someone, marrying, and having kids. Keiko sees life in a completely different way. She sees it as a regimented work cycle. A cog placed in a way that gives her purpose. Having no friends, partners, or hobbies suits her just fine.
Things get interesting when she meets a guy (who is a piece of work, to say the least) that can give her a shroud of normalcy in the eyes of others. I won't get into details, but it's a clever setup that exposes a fascinating aspect of her psychology and makes a statement on how society views those who are perceived as being a little different.
The bottom line is this: If you love what you're doing, do it to your heart's content. You do not need society to judge you and tell you how to feel.
I will definitely look up what else the author has written.
Extra
4,5zvláštní kniha, která ale dává smysl a dobře zobrazuje témata, kterými se zaobírá. no a co, že někdo je spoko nemít partnera a jenom pracovat v sámošce. to, že keiko si u sebe doma nechá týpka, o kterým přemýšlí podobně jako o kočce, jenom aby ji okolí (nejlépe zobrazené snachou týpka “do toho mi nic není, ale *nevyžádané organizování života) dalo pokoj je zároveň vtipný a tragický. bonusové body za konec.
Doporučeno lidem, kterým se líbilo Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
přidávám citaci od autorky: “I wanted to illustrate how odd the people who believe they are ordinary or normal are. They are the so-called normal people, but when you switch the direction of the camera, it is they who appear strange or odd.” velmi relatable pro mě jako někoho komu přijde “najdi si jednoho partnera do konce života, vezměte se a mějte děti a 9 to 5 job” jako to scifi.
Enjoyed this one. Short read. Lots of layers in this one. Society's disparaging view of people who hold jobs in the service industry is one layer. People living on the edge of society and trying to find a place is another. The recent news of Japan's low birthrate and poor work-life balance dilemma added another layer. The book is humorous, but Keiko is unusual, and was never really sure if the book would take a dark turn.
more an opposition to norms and conformity than commentary on other being neurodivergent imo
Gives me yellow wallpaper vibes. Quick read that creeps up on you and leaves a lasting impression. Is she slowly going insane or is she finally following her purpose? To assimilate or be assimilated becomes two sides of the same coin. Chilling.
