Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Convenience Store Woman

I need new vocabulary to accurately describe the immense treat that is Convenience Store Woman. “Mundane yet strange,” feels far too broad. The vibes of this story feel like a symphony of everyday sounds, a cognitively intimate awareness of other humans, and the comfort of allowing oneself to be a small piece of a well-functioning machine.

Murata’s acclaimed short novel follows Keiko Furukura, a middle aged woman in Japan that has worked at a convenience store for 18 years. She is described as unusual, some type of social outcast. Through her point of view, the reader gains access to her uncomfortable yet astute inner workings. The additional characters serve as everything from pained yet caring family, to hateful and emotionally blind fellow outcasts.

As the societal criticism of Keiko’s life choices is further explored, I was left with only frustration for her sake. Keiko has found routine, peace, and connectedness through her work. If the general tasks she did to take up her time were done in service to a church or nunnery, no one would bat an eye. This story does well to lay out hypocrisy and prejudice in a lovely and succinct manner.

Also, the back of my book contained Murata’s essay that first appeared in Literally Hub on June 14th, 2018. I was rolling, omg. It's just as fantastic and well worth the read.

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dalaia's review against another edition

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hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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amiegold's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

A glimpse into the mind of a convenience store clerk and her view of herself and where she fit into society. It wasn't clearly labelled, but from the beginning I had the idea that she was an autistic woman in her 30's who felt most at home in her menial job: convenience store worker. The book goes on to explore social expectations, motivations and interactions and how our everyday joys and sorrows might look to someone on the spectrum. Eye opening, funny and a quick read, I feel like this book is worth taking a few hours to find some empathy with people with Autistic tendencies.

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging funny sad fast-paced

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

3.5

This was a short and weird - in a good way - little book about a woman named Keiko Furukara who spends 18 years working in a convenience store. I don't deem myself to have the authority to diagnose a character with anything, but from the text, it is pretty apparent that she is neurodivergent. She is constantly looked down on and lectured by people around her about being in her 30s and working a job they do not deem suitable, for not being married or having children. Keiko works at the convenience store because it is what makes sense to her, it seems to give her a genuine happiness and control over the chaos of life, and I enjoyed reading about her as a character. She was very interesting and honestly sweet, and I think that there are probably a lot of people who see part of themselves in this character.

My only criticism is that I wish there had been more of a plot, and that it had been a little longer. I feel like there is so much more that could've been explored with this character, but it ended prematurely. Other than that, I really liked it and I'm glad I read it.

Also this cover is really cute.

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ninawilson's review against another edition

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reflective

4.0

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yavin_iv's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

unfortunately disappointing. even though it was so short, i was bored and found myself impatiently checking how much was left. i think it had a good thing going with its subversion of the marriage of convenience trope (note this is by no means a romance), but it only scratches the surface. not a fan of the translation, the prose is awkward at times and everyone's dialogue is unrealistic, though i enjoyed the narrator's voice and felt at home with her in the convenience store. the best part of this was the essay included at the very end: it was the essence of this book boiled down into its best parts, i'd recommend just reading that 😕 (https://lithub.com/sayaka-muratas-love-letter-to-a-convenience-store/)

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amomentofmusic's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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