2018/10/06

BOOK REVIEW:
CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN BY SAYAKA MURATA

Title: Convenience Store Woman
Author: Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator)
Published: 2016
Language: English (translated from Japanese)
Pages: 163
Rating: 5/5


Summary:
Keiko Furukura has always been considered strange, but as an adult, she's found her place working in a convenience store. She's aware she's not living up to society's expectations and is a cause of concern for her family and although she's happy where she is, when a man comes into the shop who is equally odd, she decides to try and change.


Review:
I absolutely adored this!

The main character in this is so fascinating and the author does an excellent job of portraying her inner life; how she struggles with social situations, how she mimics others to try and fit in, how the convenience store gives her purpose and how she eventually tries to change her life so that others will accept her, all the while not understanding why she needs to do it.

The books brings up a lot of really interesting issues and I think Keiko embodies an extreme version of what many of us often feel in that everyone has to fit into a certain box to fit into society and how there is often very little room for anything else. But the story shows us; if she's happy doing what she's doing, what is the problem exactly? What is this obsession with having all people be "normal"?

I also loved the setting of the convenience store and I could picture it so vividly. It really springs to life through the main character's eyes and it becomes an almost magical place.

It's a rather weird book, but I loved it. I would highly recommend it if you like contemporary fiction that has a bit of an odd edge.
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