Reviews with content warning for Acephobia/Arophobia - Convenience Store Woman

Honestly this was a great book. Murata does in 160 pages what most authors need three times as much space for. Keiko is such a wonderful protagonist and I was so glad to get to know her. Her way of facing the challenges of being a modern woman in society is unique, refreshing, and sometimes a bit dark. The humor is dry but it definitely worked for me.

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gamer3's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

It's reflective, but I can't surpass the amount of normalized hate of different communities I read. I finished it in hope that it would be better, but honestly it didn't. Don't recommend.

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genny's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Short, kind of "quiet"(?) book with good commentary on cultural expectations, feeling isolated due to them, and how that experience can shape people very differently (ahem, Shiraha...). Keiko reads as neurodivergent and may be on the ace spectrum. I enjoyed her point of view and actually found her descriptions of her work relaxing. It was a little startling to see how indifferent she was to everything, even Shiraha's extreme incel-ness...I wanted to strangle him and Keiko was just vibing. 😆 The ending was strange and unsettling - Keiko believes it's a happy one, but is it?

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navayiota's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed and connected to this book. I think it was an immaculate critique of capitalistic society and how a person's value is judged by what they contribute to others and how little they shake the boat. The rage Keiko felt when she was being grilled for information about her personal life, and the way everyone so shamelessly criticised her to her face about her life choices really resonated with me and stirred up all kinds of emotions. It's always such a great feeling, reading a book and knowing the author just gets you.
I didn't find Keiko weird, I related to some of her thoughts and actions like having to copy everyone around you to fit in, although I will say I have enough empathy to not eat a random dead bird or hit a kid on the head with a spade to end a fight. Reading about her thought process immediately brought the phrase "ruthless efficiency" to my mind. She navigates the world with a different set of values, and reducing pain is just not one of them. She doesn't do it out of malice, she just doesn't get why it's a big deal. All she needs is someone to explain to her what the societal rules are so she can follow them, and that's why she thrives in a convenience store. There's a manual spelling everything out for her, and that's exactly what she wants. There's nothing wrong with her, she just needs guidance and a place to belong, where she won't be judged for what she can or can't do, or any surrounding factors like her age or the clothes she wears. I hope this book made this clear for some people. I believe this should be essential reading for anyone trying to become more open minded.
I'll definitely be checking out more of Sayaka Murata's work. I can say that as simple as this book was, it really blew me away.

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pbpb's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

An interesting read, but not entirely convincing. The reasons might be considered a spoiler so continue reading at your own risk.

A main part of the story is that Keiko cannot find a job besides a low-paying convenience store worker as that is all she is familiar with. She has worked there for 18 years! And the narration shows that she is an incredibly skilled and dedicated worker. Surely she would have been able to become a manager at least, if not rise up the ranks from there. The book does not touch on that at all. Additionally, the ending felt a bit abrupt and brings the reader almost to the same place as they began - an outsider in society finds peace in the structure of the convenience store. The only difference is that the main character knows she cannot give it up even to live a "normal" life.

The characters were also quite flat and though some of them serve a purpose by being so, the others did not work out in favour of the story.
I did enjoy reading this book and found Keiko's story strange and comforting at the same time. I don't think it is a particularly special or spectacular novel, but I cannot say I regret it either. I think the ideas in the novel would have been conveyed more effectively if there was more thought into the characters, their situations, and how they change (or don't) throughout the story.

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madamdun's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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