The book, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is about a 36-year-old woman who is

working a part-time job in a convenience store. From a young Keiko Furukura had caused

trouble to other people because of her views on the world. Keiko learned that in order to stay

tuned with the world she has to copy other people's behaviors, speech patterns, styles, etc.

Keiko has a sister who doesn't understand why Keiko at that age still works part-time and is not

married to anyone. Then Keiko meets Shiraha, a man who poorly does the job at the store and

he doesn't fit society's expectations. Together, Keiko and Shirah create a plan of how can they

help each other to fit the expectations of society.

The family suspects something is wrong with Keiko for some other reasons as well. As a

young child in school, Keiko witnessed some unruly children fighting at recess and the

teacher called out, "Somebody stop them!" Acting quickly, Keiko retrieved a spade from a

nearby shed and bashed one of the surly boys over the head with it. It seems as though

Keiko sees things in black and white terms, and when she heard the teacher cry out for

help, Keiko acted accordingly. Of course, a parent/teacher meeting was called to address

this infraction, and seeing her Mom's serious demeanor, Keiko realized she must have done

something wrong. However, she still couldn't understand why. Keiko soon realized that the

less she said, the better.

Keiko finds her best self in the tightly controlled environment of the convenience store. It

has a manual covering everything the employees must do, and she follows it to the letter

involving dress, greeting customers, and many other protocols. She follows these to the

letter and receives good feedback for doing so. In addition, she draws upon the

personalities of those she works with to form her own personality. In this way, she will

garner more acceptance in the world. For instance, when she admires another female

worker's way of talking and dressing, she copies the speech pattern and purchases clothing

from the same fashion stores. Keiko had her own very small apartment, although it had

roaches and was old. She would take dented cans of food home from the convenience

store but would be sure to eat other healthy foods like vegetables and rice, plus get enough

sleep. She knew she had to follow these rules in order to stay healthy and serve the

well-being of the convenience store.

Convenience Store Woman is one of those stories that linger in your subconscious. You

continue to think about it and ponder its meaning. I think the author is very good at putting

herself in a different type of consciousness. The protagonist, Keiko, has never understood

people and has trouble fitting into society. She finds her purpose in life when she takes a job at a convenience store. The store's manual gives her instructions on how to behave when greeting customers and in difficult situations. Life finally makes sense to her.

Initially, it appears Keiko is just a concrete thinker. But as she diligently performs her store

duties, a microcosm of society is revealed and Keiko deals with the pressures of conformity

and mass prejudices.

Through Keiko’s uninhibited narration, Murata emphasizes the absurdities of our modern

age. Particularly about work culture, social conformism, the expectations Japanese society

places on single women in their 30s.

Needless to say, this was a very interesting character study. It was told in simple language,

translated beautifully from its original Japanese. It was a quick and satisfying read which I

would highly recommend.

Check out Convenience Store Woman from the Newport Beach Public Library!