*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!

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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.

Remarkably, this really IS as weird, dark and surreal as everyone says it is. Not “the new Eleanor Oliphant” at all, and shouldn't be sold as such. Keiko is a fantastically odd protagonist: there are a few moments of real disturbance, such as when she eyes her sister's crying baby and a nearby knife, and thinks "If it were a matter of making him be quiet, it would be easy enough." Murata is a confident and subtle enough writer to leave it at that, but we get just enough glimpses of Keiko's real difference from those around her to build a bigger picture: one of a woman whose family and friends can't understand who she is, whose final victory is even harder-won because no one else wants her to have it. Excellent.

I loved this book (though it's quite short so is more a novella).  On the surface it's the story of Keiko, who has never fitted in or managed to appear normal, but who has flourished working in a convenience store - for 18 years - so that it has become her entire life.  It's wryly amusing rather than sad, but at the same time is a strong critique of the way in which we react to anyone who is substantially different from the norm, and who appears to ignore the conventions we all live by.  I have read that this book is a huge hit in Japan where it's seen as a comment on the more rigid societal norms that operate there. 
I hope I haven't made it sound too worthy as it's a great read.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is one this summers most buzzed about books. At only 176 pages it's a perfect read, and if you can't get away this summer then, you'll find yourself transported to Japan for a short while. 

Read the rest of my review on my blog http://charlotteandcate.com/2018/08/15/book-review-convenience-store-woman-by-sayaka-murata

Part of our Bite-size Books series. 

The Book Digested:

This book, rather appropriately, does what it says on the tin. 18-year-old Keiko (who once expressed a desire to eat a dead budgie) found normality in the monotone workspace of a convenience store. Outside the shop, she was outlandish, out of control. Within its walls she could become a cog in the machine without having to worry about "being a 'person'". But as the decades pass, her family's past concerns about her wild character morph into worry that she lacks any character at all. Keiko is middle-aged, in a job without prospects, and has no husband or children. They intend to change this. Enter Shirah, a fellow cog in the convenience store (until he is fired). The pair hatch a plan to conjure up the façade of a relationship and so protect Keiko's calm, contained, and convenient lifestyle. Can she fake being a person, or will they work out she's still just a piece of the machine?

Vintage:

Fresh! (published July 2018)

Key notes:

Identity, independence, gender, industry, dark humour, feminism

Delectable quotes:

“When I can’t sleep, I think about the transparent glass box that is still stirring with life even in the darkness of night. That pristine aquarium is still operating like clockwork. As I visualize the scene, the sounds of the store reverberate in my eardrums and lull me to sleep.”

"The long-forgotten silence sounded like music I'd never heard before."

Dessert:

(Fiction) A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin. This collection of short stories shares the deadpan style of Convenience Store Woman and the inexplicably tantalising details of mundanity.

(Film) Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) directed by Chantal Akerman. 3 hours 45 minutes long, this film tracks the drab repetition that faces Jeanne every single day in her apartment in Brussels. Moving ever so slowly between chores and customers, Jeanne seems perfectly resigned to a life of domesticity and prostitution. Everything is the same, until suddenly it changes. 

Pairs well with:

A hunk of our Irish soda bread. Like Keiko, I have also worked in a store and relied on the ease of food picked up there ("For breakfast I eat convenience store bread, for lunch I eat convenience store rice balls... after work I'm often so tired I just buy something from the store and take it home for dinner.") Whenever I am trying to wean myself off it, I knock up a couple of loaves of bread and look forward to coming home for toast and tea at the end of a long dull shift. Barely a knead and ready under an hour? Even Keiko might manage that. 

Soon to appear in short form on Instagram: francandlil

I found this book unusual and a bit different. I found the main character likeable. A quirky book that I would recommend to customers. Also I love the cover as it is unusual and eye catching.

Keiko is a convenience store worker who feels she is born for her job. She is attuned to the store's needs more than she is that of other people, and cares for herself because the success of the store depends on her health and well-being. She cannot understand why her family and society at large, who approved when she took this part time job while at University, are so opposed to her still working there in her thirties. She is unmarried and  sees nothing wrong with devoting her life to this 'dead end' job, but sees that she must change in order to keep the people around her happy.

This book is fascinating, and such an unusual read. I don't remember ever reading a book and thinking 'actually, I don't need any plot or tension, or even much back story'. I was endlessly intrigued by Keiko's life which revolves around the convenience store, and the peaceful life she leads, despite everyone's disapproval. Her past problems with empathy marked her as different, but in becoming homogeneous with the other workers of the store she finally fits in. This is such an unusual book, and I'm so glad I read it.

Keiko has worked at the convenience store her entire adult life. But as she nears 40, the pressure to find a “real” job or get married is mounting – what sort of life awaits Keiko outside the comfort zone of the store and will she step out to meet it? 

I feel like there’s a good novel somewhere in Convenience Store Woman but Sayaka Murata didn’t realise it. Her commentary on conformist society and the individual is inane and unoriginal though far worse is her muddled placement of the main character within that commentary. 

It’s never explicitly stated but Keiko is obviously autistic. She doesn’t understand human behaviour, talks repeatedly about the mask/disguise she wears and takes her cues from her peers, mimicking their body language, speech patterns and dress to pass as “normal” – not that she cares all that much about being “normal” but she feels life is easier if that’s how people perceive her. She comes off as robotic and unemotional. She has no interest in sex or relationships in general. She works, thinks and lives mechanically. She even has her sister come up with lines for her to repeat in social situations to seem like a “normal” person. 

She’s practical to a fault. An anecdote from her childhood (which also shows that her behaviour is not the result of working in a convenience store): two boys are fighting in the schoolyard, someone calls to break them up, so Keiko grabs a shovel and smacks one of the boys on the head, nearly killing him. She doesn’t understand – she broke up the fight didn’t she? Later on, her sister’s baby is crying and she briefly thinks that she knows a way to permanently stop it making noise and stressing her sister out. There’s no malice behind the thought of killing a baby, she’s just thinking practically without understanding appropriate social behaviour (though she knows enough not to act on it). 

So I would definitely say that Keiko’s autistic, or at the very least somewhere on the spectrum. Not that anything’s wrong with that of course - but then what’s the novel’s point? Murata seems to be critical of a conformist society where certain jobs relegate people to cogs within a machine – dehumanised, essentially – in a society with far too rigidly-defined roles with no room for individual expression, leading to unsatisfied lives. 

Except Keiko is happy to be a cog in a machine because of the way her brain is wired. And it wasn’t society that did this to her, she was simply born this way. She fully embraces the role of convenience store worker, as it’s clearly defined and therefore understandable. She could do without societal rules with its grounding in complex human behaviour, which she’s never understood. 

Her character arc is non-existent. She knows her place in the world and she’s satisfied with it. She starts and ends as a convenience store worker. Something happens – which was completely arbitrary and never explained - along the way that takes her out of that setting but it only confirms her contentment with her lot in life and puts her back where she started. Is the point then that society should accept that some people are fine with/don’t care about “low” status? Or that the rules should be different for someone who’s autistic/on the spectrum, who clearly can’t handle/doesn’t want the complexities that come with more traditional ideas of success – high paying jobs, lots of material possessions, families, etc.? 

I found Convenience Store Woman underwhelming as its ultimate message – you’ve got one life to live, it’s yours, don’t waste any time worrying about what other people think and live it the way you want – isn’t just a mundane, obvious observation but is something I took to heart years ago and I think is how most people live anyway. At least that’s what I took the meaning to be seeing as Keiko affirms her place in the world, regardless of what people think, and is more than ok with it. Unless it’s meant to be tragic as she tried and failed to “climb the social ladder” by getting a new job? But if she’s autistic, then she probably wouldn’t be able to handle anything else so isn’t she already doing the best that she can? 

And that’s why I don’t think the conformity critique – if that was what Murata was going for – works well alongside an autistic character. Because conformity, regularity, mindless, repetitive labour, etc. actually fits an autistic person who can’t handle change. Maybe that message would’ve been more effective if Keiko had started out as a girl with hopes and dreams for a fulfilling career, a nice house, a husband and kids, and ended up a single convenience store worker. Except the novel is actually about how someone found their place in life right out of high school and has continued to be happy with it; it’s everyone else who has a problem with that. 

So the novel is about a character who doesn’t change, a society that doesn’t change, and how both have found comfort in conformity, and the author’s conclusion to all this is… who knows? At any rate it doesn’t add up to much! 

People seem to really dig autistic fictional characters these days – like the gay professor in that wildly successful yet desperately unfunny sitcom, and Don Tillman in Graeme Simsion’s bestselling The Rosie Project – so I can see why this would be popular. And Japanese convenience stores really are incredible. Their food culture is light years ahead of what we have in the west. Convenience store food is delicious and the selections are many and mind-bending – if you ever visit, you’ll be blown away with the treasures inside these ubiquitous shops.

Still, it’s generally a well-written book that’s easy to read and, for a novel mostly set in somewhere as ordinary as a convenience store and its day-to-day machinations, it’s never boring so credit to Sayaka Murata for that. Maybe it’s messaging is more relevant to close-buttoned Japanese society but I wasn’t impressed with it and found it left a confused impression. If it had been clearer and more focused, this would be a decent novel; as it is, it’s a jumbled mess.

This is an excellent short novel which depicts very clearly the mind of someone who is most likely on the autistic spectrum. Keiko, the protagonist, is a young woman who has never fitted in with society's expectations of her. She has known she was different from a very early age. Her school and her mother were horrified when instead of mourning a dead bird found in the playground she suggested taking it home to eat it. This was a logical conclusion for her. And so she continues in life, doing things she thinks are logical while other people look on in despair. Eventually she takes on a job in a convenience store and finds that the strict rules and regulations there suit her very nicely. She studies and takes on the speech patterns of others and in this way manages to fit in. For eighteen years she manages quite nicely, working hard and socialising with her sister and the few friends she has. Her sister helps her with presenting herself socially. But when another misfit joins the store, Keiko's stable world is disturbed and her happiness starts to slip away.

I loved this novel. The best literature helps us understand the lives of others and this does just that. Keiko may not live up to what is expected of her from her family and from society but she is content. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

“IRASSHAIMASE!"

Keiko herself knows that she’s not ‘normal’. But her job makes her feel that she fits in. She is an exemplary employee of the new 24/7 mini-mart. “Irasshaimasé!” – welcome to the store – she calls out loud and clear. But her sister worries about her. Her (few) friends can’t quite make her out. And eventually the pressure to conform to accepted Japanese ways overwhelms her...even though she is entirely happy.

Narrated by Keiko in a simple prose style and ably translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, this is an unusual book in which the wry humour underlies a sad and rather serious story. Usually when I see a book described as quirky, I run a mile. But this one gives quirky a good name. 

My thanks to Portobello Books for the review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

I enjoyed this short story about a woman who cannot (and does not want) to fit into society's norms. She has worked in a local convenience store for 18 years and despite her family's wishes has no desire to find a career or a husband. I read a lot of Japanese fiction and I always love trying out new authors so I'm so glad I got the chance to read this. It's a tale of love (between a woman and a convenience store!), societal pressure and self-acceptance. It's a really quick read and I encourage everyone to give it a go.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the simple story of a woman who doesn't quite fit in where her family expects her to, but she does fit perfectly into the life she has chosen as a convenience store woman. Keiko seems like a quiet individual, but she is weirdly obsessed with her convenience store to the point where she even seems to think it's a living thing with wants and needs. She feels its her job to cater to those needs, to make sure all the shelves are stocked perfectly, all depending on the weather and what she is meant to be promoting that week or month. Her whole life revolves around her life in the convenience store and when she's not there she is merely passing the hours until she can go back. But the thing is she really is the perfect convenience store woman, she does her job to the best of anyones ability, the store and Keiko have the perfect relationship. Then along comes a young man who messes up her whole well planned life, along with the wishes of her family and friends that she should settle down a live a "proper" life.
I loved all the descriptions of the store and the different foods being sold. Also the descriptions of the people and how Keiko interacts with them in the perfect convenience store woman way. Keiko was really interesting as a character, i didn't know if she was slightly autistic because of the way she seemed to only be able to interact with people by copying others. She also had some really odd thoughts that were really inappropriate but she seemed to know to keep those to herself. I hated the pressure she felt under to become a more usual person, to have a relationship, children and a more grown up job. I feel like she had a much better life than a lot of her friends, she did exactly what she wanted and she really loved what she did, isn't that the perfect life?

A fantastic, quirky insight into Keiko’s personal version of "normal". Keiko’s deadpan feedback of society is severe yet hilarious; it's the perfect anecdote for anyone that's ever felt different to the norm. Her ideas are solid and unnerving; her want to survive as a regular citizen is at times heartbreaking - her sister and mother are desperate for her to become normal, ingrained, and as regular as possible. As a commentary on the strict social adherence of Japanese society, I think CTW hits the nail on the head. Keiko makes you question your own role in the world. Are we just cogs? Are we all ultimately happy that way? 5/5 stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An interesting quick read. Very thought provoking about how society need to "fix" people, especially people with mental health issues, because they don't conform to the norm.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori, follows a single, 36-year old woman called Keiko Furukara who has worked part-time at the same 24/7 convenience store for 18 years, and, despite the concerns of her family and friends, she is totally fine with it. Keiko has always had trouble fitting in and acting "normal", so she feels comfortable with the structure and concrete set of rules provided by this routine job. As a result, she becomes an exemplary convenience store worker, completely attuned to requirements of her job, so much so that her day-to-day routine is arranged solely around serving the convenience store.

"The time before I was reborn as a convenience store worker is somewhat unclear in my memory."

Admittedly, I was worried going into this book that Keiko would be one of those annoyingly quirky characters that just feel unrealistic, but her idiosyncrasies and very rational way of thinking actually made her a charming protagonist to read about. Keiko has always been aware that people find her very strange, so she tries to mirror the behaviour and speech patterns of her colleagues in order to appear more "normal". But as she gets older, the people around her start to express more frequently their concern about her unusual career choice and her non-existant love life. Even though her strict adherence to the convenience store's training manual makes her a perfect employee, she worries that people still view her as inadequate.

"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. Finally I understood why my family had tried so hard to fix me."

The book is quite humorous, but it takes a darker turn when Keiko meets Shiraha, a lazy, opinionated, unattractive, and basically unemployable man, who is also an outcast, but for very different reasons. He treats Keiko very badly, but she finds a way to use him to appear more "normal" in the eyes of her co-workers, family, and friends.

In essence, the novel is a biting exploration of the societal expectations placed on women. Women are pressured to contribute to society either by getting married and having children, or/and pursuing a challenging professional career.  Moreover, the book shows that, sadly, it is often that women are the ones who uphold these societal expectations and put pressure on each other. Even though the story specifically deals with the norms of Japanese society, I think the issues discussed here are relevant in all parts of the world. It's an insightful look at how society treats people who are outside the "norm" and do not conform to its criteria.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend this quick and clever read about an unconventional love story between a woman and a convenience store. :)

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Convenience Store Woman is a short but incredibly compelling novel. Keiko is the convenience store woman. Having never quite belonged, she finds herself out of higher education and quickly finds comfort in the newly opened store in a metro station. Familiar faces and routine are drilled in and in a blink of an eye our heroine has been in the store eighteen years. This longevity of service is met by disgust by those around her, but not by Keiko. The books descriptions are told with such precision and order its hard not to warm towards Keiko’s mindset. Whilst the rest of the world may not understand the inner workings of her mind, as reader its easy to believe, especially with the backdrop of her childhood dropped in. This is a novel about service, about dedication and above all being happy. Outside voices surround this novel but it’s the inner workings of the store and Keikos mind that make it such an enjoyable read. There is never a dull moment from within the store and when out of it brings great sadness when others influence her. A book that’s gone within an instant but will certainly leave a lasting impression.

I enjoy Japanese literature and keep an eye on new and popular books through online sites and groups and this one kept coming up time and time again so I was thrilled to see the arc come up on Netgalley.
Keiko our main character is quirky and a bit of a loner who lives by herself with no real commitments other than her job at a convenience store where she is completely and utterly dedicated and always in earlier than her shift time. 
Her job gives her a real sense of purpose and her sleep and physical and mental health are all based around what she feels should be correct for a successful employee. On her days off she will turn down events/possible late nights etc (on the few times she is asked) if she thinks her body would maybe not be as productive at work the next day as normal. In her free time her mind is still always on the stores routine eg. when the delivery will be arriving, the stock rotation because of the weather, promotions, the cleanliness, the staff rota and when she visits another store she can see everything wrong compared with where she works. Keiko is the employers dream. 
Although she is aware that she is slightly different and looks at others in the store management and takes note of the style of clothes, speech and mannerisms and tries to replicate it in her own way to appear similar. 
As time has moved on Keiko's few friends and family have married and had children or sought careers and they keep reminding her she should be doing the same and not settling for what she currently has.
This is why she takes a few drastic changes when she allows a male employee to live with her. 
Shiraha is quite similar to her in a away but dictates a lot to her and tells her their arrangement to everyone else will look like what is "expected' of them & that it will" keep people off their backs". I didn't like this character at all and squirmed as he often put her down, I willed her to argue back but ultimately he does not get the better of her in the end!.
Although the book is short and you could argue simplistic in its style it packs a punch with the underlying message of how societies pressures and expectations can shape your life and how people look at and treat those who they do not think are conforming. It really gives you a taste of Japanese culture. And although Sayaka Murata chose to write about a simple subject such as life as a convenience store worker she managed to captivate me and I found it hard to put down reading it in a couple of hours and that is a sign of a talented storyteller!. 
I will be sure to look out for other books by this author who funnily enough still works herself in a convenience store so I could only imagine all these thoughts & feelings have been whirling around her head whilst she is working which kind of adds a spin reflecting on this book this that gets you thinking..... 
My thanks go to the author, publisher and netgalley for receiving this arc in return for a honest review.
A book I would highly recommend for those who enjoy this genre.