The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in
international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone,
Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of
contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits in to
the rigidity of its work culture only too well.
Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her
parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so
when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university,
they are delighted for her. For her part, in the convenience store
she finds a predictable world mandated by the store manual, which
dictates how the workers should act and what they should say, and she
copies her coworkers’ style of dress and speech patterns so that
she can play the part of a normal person. However, eighteen years
later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a
boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her
life, but is aware that she is not living up to society’s
expectations and causing her family to worry about her. When a
similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in
the store, he will upset Keiko’s contented stasis—but will it be
for the better?
Sayaka Murata
brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the familiar convenience store
that is so much part of life in Japan. With some laugh-out-loud
moments prompted by the disconnect between Keiko’s thoughts and
those of the people around her, she provides a sharp look at Japanese
society and the pressure to conform, as well as penetrating insights
into the female mind. Convenience Store Woman is a fresh,
charming portrait of an unforgettable heroine that recalls Banana
Yoshimoto, Han Kang, and Amélie.
