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abbie_ 's review for:
Convenience Store Woman
by Sayaka Murata
Thank you so much to @portobellobooks for sending me a free copy of Convenience Store Woman to review - it was an absolute joy to read!
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Much like Eleanor Oliphant, I found myself relating to our socially inept and awkward main character, Keiko Furukura, more than is probably normal... But I think if you’re a bit awkward and a perfectionist and have ever worked in retail, then you’ll find yourself weirdly relating too! Keiko has worked in a convenience store for 18 years, ever since she started university, despite her family’s attempts to ‘fix’ her. The convenience store and her persona while she’s there becomes her whole life, mimicking the speech patterns of her various coworkers and sleeping and eating each day to be fit for work the next. Murata describes Keiko’s life in such a hypnotic way, I was instantly under the spell of her writing, which is of course an excellent translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori (#namethetranslator).
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Anyone who’s worked in retail will tell you that even if it’s not your dream job, you get sucked into a weird kind of microcosm, where your workplace sometimes even invades your dreams (I have had many dreams about sausage rolls & homeware products), and to reading about it is quite a surreal experience!
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The arrival of Shihara into Keiko’s life upsets her balance - equally alienated in society, they attempt to use each other to ease some of the pressure to be seen as a ‘normal’ member of society (especially in Japan), something Murata tackles with great skill, delving into the complicated question of what it means to conform and lead a so-called ‘normal’ life. Highly recommend!
.
Much like Eleanor Oliphant, I found myself relating to our socially inept and awkward main character, Keiko Furukura, more than is probably normal... But I think if you’re a bit awkward and a perfectionist and have ever worked in retail, then you’ll find yourself weirdly relating too! Keiko has worked in a convenience store for 18 years, ever since she started university, despite her family’s attempts to ‘fix’ her. The convenience store and her persona while she’s there becomes her whole life, mimicking the speech patterns of her various coworkers and sleeping and eating each day to be fit for work the next. Murata describes Keiko’s life in such a hypnotic way, I was instantly under the spell of her writing, which is of course an excellent translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori (#namethetranslator).
.
Anyone who’s worked in retail will tell you that even if it’s not your dream job, you get sucked into a weird kind of microcosm, where your workplace sometimes even invades your dreams (I have had many dreams about sausage rolls & homeware products), and to reading about it is quite a surreal experience!
.
The arrival of Shihara into Keiko’s life upsets her balance - equally alienated in society, they attempt to use each other to ease some of the pressure to be seen as a ‘normal’ member of society (especially in Japan), something Murata tackles with great skill, delving into the complicated question of what it means to conform and lead a so-called ‘normal’ life. Highly recommend!