cactusramune 's review for:

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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An absolutely life-changing book that you read and then think about for the rest of your life. While maybe not intentional, the protagonist's life and experiences throughout the book are some of the most visceral writing of an autistic woman I've ever had the pleasure of reading. You will never forget this book and how you read as a woman was slowly crushed by the expectations of society and stripping herself of what it meant to be her to fit in to what people expect of her, and make it out the other side truer to herself than she ever was before. The convenience store is a living being that loves you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Toxic relationship

There are moments where the protagonist either carries out graphic violence or considers it, the first of which happens with an animal. The second instance is a deeply disturbing thought of wanting to kill an infant to quiet it, though this is never carried out and registers as violent.