A review by grimalkintoes
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman is an unorthodox and strangely intoxicating love letter between a woman and the convenience store in which she works. The narrative follows Keiko Furukura as she grapples with being a social outcast, never living up to the standards of her family or her wider community. 36 and still working at her first and only job, a corner convenience store, she must decide if fitting in with her family and peers is more important than the fulfillment she gets from working at her presumably “dead end job” — the one place where she can clearly make sense of her purpose through the predictability of the store.

Convenience Store Woman is a unique and inventive novella that dissects the labels we place on ourselves and each other, turning them on their side and asking: “does this shit really even matter?”