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A review by singlier
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori)
4/5 🥤s
At once weird, relatable, and unsettling, Convenience Store Woman follows the life of Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six year old part time convenience store worker in Tokyo, Japan who finds meaning and purpose in her job at the chagrine of her family and friends. In her mid-thirties, she is expected to be married, having children, or having ambitions, yet she is perfectly content existing in her simple job and meager apartment. Her personality is an amalgamation of people around her, her style is lifted from her fellow co-workers, and her strange life is explained by careful lies from her family. I think to attempt to categorize Furukura takes away from the point of the story, but there were moments I heavily related to her and moments I felt completely alien and disconnected from her. She is observant and well-meaning, but also unfeeling. I can't tell if we are supposed to empathize or ridicule Furukura for her connection to the convenience store--reading the text as an example of capitalist alienation is equally as valid as reading it a critique of arbitrary social norms and the failure of society to support those who do not conform.
4/5 🥤s
At once weird, relatable, and unsettling, Convenience Store Woman follows the life of Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six year old part time convenience store worker in Tokyo, Japan who finds meaning and purpose in her job at the chagrine of her family and friends. In her mid-thirties, she is expected to be married, having children, or having ambitions, yet she is perfectly content existing in her simple job and meager apartment. Her personality is an amalgamation of people around her, her style is lifted from her fellow co-workers, and her strange life is explained by careful lies from her family. I think to attempt to categorize Furukura takes away from the point of the story, but there were moments I heavily related to her and moments I felt completely alien and disconnected from her. She is observant and well-meaning, but also unfeeling. I can't tell if we are supposed to empathize or ridicule Furukura for her connection to the convenience store--reading the text as an example of capitalist alienation is equally as valid as reading it a critique of arbitrary social norms and the failure of society to support those who do not conform.