Convenience Store Woman
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Reviewed by Tanya
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Convenience Store Woman is a story of 36-year-old Tokyo living Keiko.
Keiko has never fit in, neither with her family nor at school. She’s always been socially awkward and takes things quite literally. She has no interest in intimacy 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.
However, when she starts working at Smile Mart she finds purpose in her life. In that store, she observes the rules of social interaction. She does her best to copy the mannerisms, speech, and dress sense of her colleagues. She plays the part of being “normal” amazingly. Keiko manages to stay in the same job for 18 years and is happy but is getting pressure from her family and friends to settle down, get married and find a “proper” career.
Weirdly enough, I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me a little bit of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine with regards to Keiko being socially awkward and I found it a little sad that she felt she had to fit in and pretend to be someone she wasn’t. From childhood everyone always found her weird so she conformed to fit into society but I’m glad she found herself too.
