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dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love short books with depth. "Convenience Store Woman" immediately draws you into an industrious world of maintaining a 24-hour store, seen through the eyes of veteran store worker Furukura.
On surface level, Furukura seems to be on the spectrum, with no sense of empathy or understanding of prescribed normal behavior, like socializing or dating. Deeper, I think she represents the new generation, and those around her the older generation, forcing her into their customs of corporate ambition, gender roles and families that completely misalign with her sense of purpose.
If anything, Furukura sees the world more clearly than anyone: she's a necessary cog in the wheel of capitalism, and her relationship with the store more fulfilling than any human one.
Sayaka Murata writes characters in such a detached, yet profoundly intimate way. I felt like I knew the incel character Shiraha, as he's the avatar of a familiar brand of male hatred, loneliness and weakness.
You'll like this if you're into Japanese fiction, quick reads, and bleak perspectives on relationships and work under late-stage capitalism.
On surface level, Furukura seems to be on the spectrum, with no sense of empathy or understanding of prescribed normal behavior, like socializing or dating. Deeper, I think she represents the new generation, and those around her the older generation, forcing her into their customs of corporate ambition, gender roles and families that completely misalign with her sense of purpose.
If anything, Furukura sees the world more clearly than anyone: she's a necessary cog in the wheel of capitalism, and her relationship with the store more fulfilling than any human one.
Sayaka Murata writes characters in such a detached, yet profoundly intimate way. I felt like I knew the incel character Shiraha, as he's the avatar of a familiar brand of male hatred, loneliness and weakness.
You'll like this if you're into Japanese fiction, quick reads, and bleak perspectives on relationships and work under late-stage capitalism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"After all, I absorb the world around me, and that's changing all the time. Just as all the water that was in my body last time we met has now been replaced with new water, the things that make up me have changed too."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There’s some interesting commentary on conformist society and capitalism, but reading this was kinda tedious. I don’t get why people are calling it fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Stalking, Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Violence
funny
sad
fast-paced
Keiko is very autistic coded and it's so frustrating to see everyone around her be so obsessed with her and not being "normal", like she enjoys her life, she is able to live on her own and sustain herself, leave her to be !! Just as she said herself - her sister would rather she be "normal" but with many problems, instead of "abnormal" and fine with it all. This book was such a good calling out of how judgemental people are and how much we police people who live differently to what is deemed the norm.
I really enjoyed this, Keiko has a distinct narrative voice that was engaging and funny at times, and it saddened me how her family, while loving, wanted to "cure" her, that she was mimicing and masking always, and had no one she could be her full self to (aside from kinda the actual convenience store).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia
dark
funny
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"In questo piccolo mondo che si regge sulla normalità gli elementi estranei devono essere eliminati, uno dopo l'altro, in silenzio. Le presenza anomale vanno scartate. Ecco perchè devo guarire. Altrimenti sarò allontanata dalla grande tribù delle personale "normali"."
La ragazza del convenience store è un pungente romanzo sull'alienazione, una provocazione al mondo contemporaneo che promuove l'individuo e al tempo stesso lo ripudia quando non si conforma alle leggi del branco.
Furukura Keiko è in grado di funzionare come essere umano solo quando lavora all'interno del suo amato konbini, luogo in cui diventa la perfetta commessa al servizio degli innumerevoli clienti che vi entrano ogni giorno. Nel konbini le sue innumerevoli deviazioni dalla norma sono nascoste dalla divisa e a nessuno importa che sia una donna single di 36 anni, senza nessun desiderio di intraprendere una relazione romantica o sessuale e senza alcuna intenzione di cercare un impiego maggiormente redditizio del suo attuale lavoretto part-time, o almeno così crede.
Il konbini, simbolo della proverbiale produttività giapponese e del capitalismo che non ammette gli individui inabili fisicamente, è il suo luogo sicuro, ma al tempo stesso la protagonista vive con la consapevolezza che quando non sarà più un ingranaggio funzionante di questo microcosmo verrà messa da parte e sostuita da un nuovo commesso, senza lasciare alcuna traccia dei 18 anni trascorsi respirando in nome del konbini. Sotto la pesantissima coltre di apatia che avvolge Keiko nei confronti del resto del mondo esterno al konbini, si nasconde un profondo bisogno di essere accettati dalle persone "normali" e venire ammessi nella loro cerchia, non sentirsi più fuori posto.
Con precisione chirurgica e una certa ironia, l'autrice Sayaka Murata critica senza pietà sia l'assoluta indifferenza che anima i movimenti di Keiko e la sua incapacità di funzionare senza il konbini, sia la fortissima pressione che subisce da parte del branco che, oltre a ledere il suo stato mentale, la porta a percepirsi come un rifiuto sociale. Shiraha, un incel disoccupato che condivide con Keiko l'appartenenza alla categoria delle irregolarità, sebbene disgustoso e insopportabile ogni oltre limite, è un ottimo tassello che svela l'ipocrisia sessista che si cela anche all'interno del konbini, dove basta scoprire che Keiko lo ospita a casa per trattarla diversamente e con condiscendeza.
Il finale mi ha sorpreso in quanto mi aspettavo una risoluzione più netta: nella sua ambivalenza, il non piegarsi alle aspettative sociale e il non "guarire" può essere interpretato sia come una vittoria che come una sconfitta.
La ragazza del convenience store è un pungente romanzo sull'alienazione, una provocazione al mondo contemporaneo che promuove l'individuo e al tempo stesso lo ripudia quando non si conforma alle leggi del branco.
Furukura Keiko è in grado di funzionare come essere umano solo quando lavora all'interno del suo amato konbini, luogo in cui diventa la perfetta commessa al servizio degli innumerevoli clienti che vi entrano ogni giorno. Nel konbini le sue innumerevoli deviazioni dalla norma sono nascoste dalla divisa e a nessuno importa che sia una donna single di 36 anni, senza nessun desiderio di intraprendere una relazione romantica o sessuale e senza alcuna intenzione di cercare un impiego maggiormente redditizio del suo attuale lavoretto part-time, o almeno così crede.
Il konbini, simbolo della proverbiale produttività giapponese e del capitalismo che non ammette gli individui inabili fisicamente, è il suo luogo sicuro, ma al tempo stesso la protagonista vive con la consapevolezza che quando non sarà più un ingranaggio funzionante di questo microcosmo verrà messa da parte e sostuita da un nuovo commesso, senza lasciare alcuna traccia dei 18 anni trascorsi respirando in nome del konbini. Sotto la pesantissima coltre di apatia che avvolge Keiko nei confronti del resto del mondo esterno al konbini, si nasconde un profondo bisogno di essere accettati dalle persone "normali" e venire ammessi nella loro cerchia, non sentirsi più fuori posto.
Con precisione chirurgica e una certa ironia, l'autrice Sayaka Murata critica senza pietà sia l'assoluta indifferenza che anima i movimenti di Keiko e la sua incapacità di funzionare senza il konbini, sia la fortissima pressione che subisce da parte del branco che, oltre a ledere il suo stato mentale, la porta a percepirsi come un rifiuto sociale. Shiraha, un incel disoccupato che condivide con Keiko l'appartenenza alla categoria delle irregolarità, sebbene disgustoso e insopportabile ogni oltre limite, è un ottimo tassello che svela l'ipocrisia sessista che si cela anche all'interno del konbini, dove basta scoprire che Keiko lo ospita a casa per trattarla diversamente e con condiscendeza.
Il finale mi ha sorpreso in quanto mi aspettavo una risoluzione più netta: nella sua ambivalenza, il non piegarsi alle aspettative sociale e il non "guarire" può essere interpretato sia come una vittoria che come una sconfitta.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Misogyny, Gaslighting
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
When will I ever learn that whenever a bunch of people really love a book about neurodivergent characters it should be my sign to run away and never engage with the story? Almost every single time I end up not liking the story or finding it problematic. But I was told this book was good, it sounded interesting, and I needed something really short to finish and was surprised by this page count, so I went for it. I regret it.
To be fair, I just don't think this was my type of book. Plenty of people liked it and I get why. When you're neurodivergent, or even just odd in your own way, you never fit into society. You don't understand why an adult is supposed to get married and have kids and work for a high-paying job. You don't understand conforming and saying what others want you to. You want to understand things in your own way and do things in your own way. You get tired of everyone telling you to be and act a certain way. When you're a neurodivergent woman, things are even worse for you, because you're doubly demanded to conform and be normal. I guess my biggest issue is that while I understood what the book was going for, I just didn't like it or the characters because this is not my experience.
Yes I'm autistic. I've always marched to the beat of my own drum. The scene in the opening when she beats a kid with a shovel or pulls her teacher's skirt off as a kid resonated with me because that's how I was like in school. I threw chairs when I was angry, I'd make extremely inappropriate comments in public, I had to go to therapy for a bit for anger management, and while I understood what I did was wrong, I still was only acting how I felt I had to because I had trouble with emotional regulation. Even her modeling herself after her friends and coworkers. I do the same. I aimlessly scroll social media for makeup and fashion looks that are popular with girls my age. I model my speech patterns after people I think are charismatic. I know how to react and dress a lot better than when I was a kid because as the protagonist in this book says, I absorb things. I come off as being a regular, if very eccentric, member of society.
But I've always craved that. This book's message about conformity and how everyone begs you to be normal, because being normal with problems is better than being abnormal and happy, isn't my experience. I've wanted a normal life where I get married and have kids and secure a good job. I want a gossipy workplace where I can hang out with everyone. I want everything that's expected of me. I understand that's only my experience and others vastly disagree with me, and that's fine. That's still why this book didn't speak to me.
Again, a few aspects of her autism I related to. I like her obsession with her job even though it's seen as a drudge and unimportant, as well as her realization that the second she's unable to work, she'll be tossed aside, even though she gave everything to that job. But otherwise, she was just too much like a robot. No emotion or intrigue. She forces herself to emote because that's what's expected.
I hated the guy too. Again, I get the point, but he's literally an incel and so it didn't really sit right with me that the protagonist hinged literally everything on him and agreed with what he and his weird family said to her and about her. I suppose that was the point, but still. Them both being isolated from society is interesting and why I initially wanted to read this, but he was way too off-putting for me and seeing her go along with a lot of what he said I just didn't like.
The book overall has a very depressing tone. Everything falls apart for the sake of normalcy. I also felt the length was a detriment. While it didn't feel rushed or anything, and the premise worked well for the limited page count, I guess I just wanted to see a more developed character arc and universe. I did like the setting though. The way the convenience store is written, it's more than a location, it takes on a character of its own. It's fitting considering how important those stores are to Japanese society, and it's the sort of strange personification I expect to see in Japanese writing. I like the contemporary setting too, simply because I need to stop reading so much about Feudal Japan and get more into books set in contemporary Japan for once.
This wasn't a bad book objectively, but most definitely not my thing. I can totally understand why others are into it because most people are pressured to conform to a society that is ableist, sexist, and throws people away if they aren't 'normal'. But I'm not someone who feels that same sort of pressure, so I wasn't really able to vibe with this. And that's fine. Not every book is written for me, after all.
When will I ever learn that whenever a bunch of people really love a book about neurodivergent characters it should be my sign to run away and never engage with the story? Almost every single time I end up not liking the story or finding it problematic. But I was told this book was good, it sounded interesting, and I needed something really short to finish and was surprised by this page count, so I went for it. I regret it.
To be fair, I just don't think this was my type of book. Plenty of people liked it and I get why. When you're neurodivergent, or even just odd in your own way, you never fit into society. You don't understand why an adult is supposed to get married and have kids and work for a high-paying job. You don't understand conforming and saying what others want you to. You want to understand things in your own way and do things in your own way. You get tired of everyone telling you to be and act a certain way. When you're a neurodivergent woman, things are even worse for you, because you're doubly demanded to conform and be normal. I guess my biggest issue is that while I understood what the book was going for, I just didn't like it or the characters because this is not my experience.
Yes I'm autistic. I've always marched to the beat of my own drum. The scene in the opening when she beats a kid with a shovel or pulls her teacher's skirt off as a kid resonated with me because that's how I was like in school. I threw chairs when I was angry, I'd make extremely inappropriate comments in public, I had to go to therapy for a bit for anger management, and while I understood what I did was wrong, I still was only acting how I felt I had to because I had trouble with emotional regulation. Even her modeling herself after her friends and coworkers. I do the same. I aimlessly scroll social media for makeup and fashion looks that are popular with girls my age. I model my speech patterns after people I think are charismatic. I know how to react and dress a lot better than when I was a kid because as the protagonist in this book says, I absorb things. I come off as being a regular, if very eccentric, member of society.
But I've always craved that. This book's message about conformity and how everyone begs you to be normal, because being normal with problems is better than being abnormal and happy, isn't my experience. I've wanted a normal life where I get married and have kids and secure a good job. I want a gossipy workplace where I can hang out with everyone. I want everything that's expected of me. I understand that's only my experience and others vastly disagree with me, and that's fine. That's still why this book didn't speak to me.
Again, a few aspects of her autism I related to. I like her obsession with her job even though it's seen as a drudge and unimportant, as well as her realization that the second she's unable to work, she'll be tossed aside, even though she gave everything to that job. But otherwise, she was just too much like a robot. No emotion or intrigue. She forces herself to emote because that's what's expected.
I hated the guy too. Again, I get the point, but he's literally an incel and so it didn't really sit right with me that the protagonist hinged literally everything on him and agreed with what he and his weird family said to her and about her. I suppose that was the point, but still. Them both being isolated from society is interesting and why I initially wanted to read this, but he was way too off-putting for me and seeing her go along with a lot of what he said I just didn't like.
The book overall has a very depressing tone. Everything falls apart for the sake of normalcy. I also felt the length was a detriment. While it didn't feel rushed or anything, and the premise worked well for the limited page count, I guess I just wanted to see a more developed character arc and universe. I did like the setting though. The way the convenience store is written, it's more than a location, it takes on a character of its own. It's fitting considering how important those stores are to Japanese society, and it's the sort of strange personification I expect to see in Japanese writing. I like the contemporary setting too, simply because I need to stop reading so much about Feudal Japan and get more into books set in contemporary Japan for once.
This wasn't a bad book objectively, but most definitely not my thing. I can totally understand why others are into it because most people are pressured to conform to a society that is ableist, sexist, and throws people away if they aren't 'normal'. But I'm not someone who feels that same sort of pressure, so I wasn't really able to vibe with this. And that's fine. Not every book is written for me, after all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If there is an award for most relatable character, it should go to Keiko Furukura! The first instance I read about her and her backstory, I immediately knew she was neurodivergent in some way. And when everyone around her keeps trying to 'cure' her, I knew this is the story that spoke to many misund rstood people.
Likewise, Convenience Store Woman is so relevant today, especially with the rise of the 4B Movement. Poor Keiko has to deal with a world so OBSESSED with career, family, and children, as well as living with a parasitic incel who has a warped view of society. All my home girl wants to do is restock supplies and work at the cash register!
In a more serious note, Keiko's adventure as a convenience store worker is intriguing and, in some way, inspiring for many. This book is a quick read, but for me, every page is worth the turn.
Likewise, Convenience Store Woman is so relevant today, especially with the rise of the 4B Movement. Poor Keiko has to deal with a world so OBSESSED with career, family, and children, as well as living with a parasitic incel who has a warped view of society. All my home girl wants to do is restock supplies and work at the cash register!
In a more serious note, Keiko's adventure as a convenience store worker is intriguing and, in some way, inspiring for many. This book is a quick read, but for me, every page is worth the turn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Violence
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Animal death, Rape
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Stalking, Sexual harassment
Ageism