A review by roaming_library
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

3.0

My actual rating is 3.5 stars

Convenience Store Woman is an interesting and slightly unnerving analysis of society and 'normal' people. I really liked the way the novel was written; the methodical, structured descriptions were almost meditative to read. Murata was able to effectively. convey both the way Keiko struggled and how the store was a refuge to her. The story is not complicated in terms of the plot, that is straightforward, but it is deep and insightful in its criticisms of how people who deviate from the norm are treated. It was an interesting read for sure.

Spoiler

It is clear that Keiko is someone who benefits from the clear and structured environment of the convenience store. She knows how to not only play the part of Store Employee while working, but she knows how to build the rest of her life through the parameters of the store. In that way it is a kind of sad story, because Keiko wants to please people but she also has a right to be happy. She is hard working and does not harm other, and yet she is looked at as an outsider, as something to be 'cured'. Keiko is happy where she is in life, and trying to change to fit what is expected of her does not improve her life at all. She loses her sense of purpose and self. Keiko details having the desire to fit in, and often says she just needs instruction--a manual for how to be like everyone else. She perceives that everyone else around her have those instructions innately, where she needs to have explicit direction. And this does not make Keiko a bad person. She doesn't have the same way of thinking, but she still cares about people. She doesn't want her sister to be sad or disappointed, she wants to be helpful to new employees and welcoming to her customers. She contributes to the world in her way and she tries her best. Her happiness looks different from others but it isn't harmful and she has a right to it.