A review by chlonline
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The tinkle of the door chime as a customer comes in sounds like church bells to my ears. When I open the door, the brightly lit box awaits me — a dependable, normal world that keeps turning. I have faith in the world inside the light-filled box.

keiko is an outcast, a foreigner to society (although not explicitly stated, she’s autistic). however, in a convenience store, where everyone is a convenience store worker and a convenience store worker only, keiko felt safe. or at least she felt like a “normal person,” whatever that may mean. 

convenience store woman is a very good short read. it’s very readable, compelling and sometimes ironic in itself. the book as a whole, is a social critique through the eyes of keiko. 

personally, it was a short, delightful, and insightful late night read :)