Name: Drue Thomas's review of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Item: Convenience Store Woman
Rating: 3
Author: Drue Thomas

Sayaka Murata

Ginny Tapley Takemori

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.

Convenience Store Woman

Srijita Sarkar 

The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects. Anyone who is lacking is disposed of.

But we live in a world that is basically the Stone Age with a veneer of contemporary society, you know. 

And i probably infect others with the way i speak too. Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as humans is what I think

lily

"No. It's not a matter of whether they permit it or not. It's what I am. For the human me, it probably is convenient to have you around, Shiraha, to keep my family and friends off my back. But the animal me, the convenience store worker, has absolutely no use for you whatsoever."

So that's why I need to be cured. Unless I'm cured, normal people will expurgate me.

Finally I understood why my family had tried so hard to fix me.

Men go hunting and women keep the home and gather fruit and wild herbs while they wait for the men to come back. This type of work is more suited to the way women's brains are set up."

"Shiraha, we're in the twenty-first century! Here in the convenience store we're not men and women.

I'd never experienced sex, and I'd never even had any particular awareness of my own sexuality. I was indifferent to the whole thing and had never really given it any thought. And here was everyone taking it for granted that I must be miserable when I wasn't. Even if I had been, though, it didn't follow that my anguish would be the obvious type of anguish they were all talking about. But they didn't want to think it through that far. I had the feeling I was being told they wanted to settle the matter this way because that was the easiest option for them.

It was fun to see all kinds of people-from university students and guys who played in bands to job-hoppers, housewives, and kids studying for their high school diploma at night school-don the same uniform and transform into the homogenous being known as a convenience store worker.

My parents were at a loss what to do about me, but they were as affectionate to me as ever. I'd never meant to make them sad or have to keep apologizing for things I did, so I decided to keep my mouth shut as best I could outside home. I would no longer do anything of my own accord, and would either just mimic what everyone else was doing, or simply follow instructions.

Everyone was crying for the poor dead bird as they went around murdering flowers, plucking their stalks, exclaiming, "What lovely flowers! Little Mr. Budgie will definitely be pleased." They looked so bizarre I thought they must all be out of their minds.

"Poor little bird. It's so sad, isn't it Keiko?" my mother kept murmuring, as if trying to convince me.

Convenience Store Woman - Gadis Minimarket

aku suka bagaimana keiko mengalami hari-hari secara apa adanya. namun ia juga menyadari bahwa setiap hari memiliki denyut yang berbeda. 

Danny

Pelan-pelan kumasukkan telur ke kantong plastik. Benda yang sama seperti yang kujual kemarin, tapi telur yang berbeda. Pelanggan juga memasukkan sumpit yang sama ke kantong plastik yang sama seperti kemarin, mengambil kembalian vang sama dan memberikan senyum pagi yang sama.

Margaret Carey

Karola

alexia

I'd noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy. If I went along with the manager when he was annoyed or joined in the general irritation at someone skiving off the night shift, there was a strange sense of solidarity as everyone seemed pleased that I was angry too.

Now, too, I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara's faces: Good, I pulled off being a "person".

You eliminate the parts of your life that others find strange—maybe that's what everyone means when they say they want to "cure" me.

It is the start of another day, the time when the world wakes up and the cogs of society begin to move. I am one of those cogs, going round and round. I have become a functioning part of the world, rotating in the time of day called morning.

In other words, you play the part of the fictitious creature called 'an ordinary person' that everyone has  in them.

Brandon Liew

"Keiko has never really fitted in. At school and university people find her odd and her family worries she'll never be normal. To appease them, Keiko takes a job at a newly opened convenience store. Here, she finds peace and purpose in the simple, daily tasks and routine interactions. She is, she comes to understand, happiest as a convenience store worker. But in Keiko's social circle it just won't do for an unmarried woman to spend all her time stacking shelves and re-ordering green tea. As pressure mounts on Keiko to find either a new job, or worse, a husband, she is forced to take desperate action..."--Provided by publisher.

Sanne

I was taking on the form of a person that their brains all imagined as normal. Being congratulated by them felt strange, but I merely said, "Thank you."

"Furukura, you're lucky, you know. Thanks to me, you can go from being triply handicapped as a single, virgin convenience store worker to being a married member of society. Everyone will assume you're a sexually active, respectable human being. That's the image of you that pleases them most. Isn't it wonderful?"

So that was it: now that she thinks he's "one of us' she can lecture him. She's far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality—however messy—is far more comprehensible.

Everyone seemed happier than when I'd told then I’d never been in love, and they were carrying on as if they knew everything about my situation. The previous me—who'd never fallen in love or had sex, who'd never had a proper job—had sometimes been hard to read. But everything about the new me—the one who had Shiraha living with her—was clear, even my future.

“[…]. Society has reached the stage in which not being of any use to the village means being condemned just for existing.”

“then I wouldn't have had to go to such lengths to find out how to be normal.”

She was getting carried away with making up a story for herself. She might just as well have been saying I was "cured." If it had been that simple all along, I thought, I wish she'd given me clear instructions before, then I wouldn't have had to go to such lengths to find out how to be normal.

Drue Thomas

tink 😵‍💫⭐

just read convenience store woman and... yeah, i’m not sure what to think. like, there were parts where i genuinely went “wait, that’s so true,” and then two pages later i’d be like “hmm... actually no? kinda questionable?” it’s this weird mix of feeling seen and totally confused.

keiko furukura is such a strange little creature of habit, and honestly? i kinda respect her. she’s literally just vibing in the konbini, syncing her soul to the beeping registers and discounted rice balls, and people keep acting like she’s broken just because she’s not playing society’s game.

but sometimes i was like girl… no. stop.

the book really highlights how obsessed society is with being “normal.” like unless you’re married, have a ‘career’, and follow the life script, people treat you like you’re malfunctioning. and keiko’s just standing there like: what if i just… don’t?

and like… i get it. i get why she wants to stick to the konbini. it gives her order, purpose, a uniform, and zero existential crises (until people start poking).

but also, the people around her? kinda awful. they’re so desperate to “fix” her that they don’t care if it ruins her peace. just vibes, no autonomy.

also can we talk about shiraha?? that man was a walking reddit thread from hell. no further comment.

not sure i liked anyone in this book, but maybe that’s the point. it’s not about liking them. it's about watching them either become what they’re “supposed to” be, or resist it.

just read convenience store woman and... yeah, i’m not sure what to think. like, there were parts where i genuinely went “wait, that’s so true,” and then two pages later i’d be like “hmm... actually no? kinda questionable?” it’s this weird mix of feeling seen and totally confused.

keiko furukura is such a strange little creature of habit, and honestly? i kinda respect her. she’s literally just vibing in the konbini, syncing her soul to the beeping registers and discounted rice balls, and people keep acting like she’s broken just because she’s not playing society’s game.
but sometimes i was like girl… no. stop.

the book really highlights how obsessed society is with being “normal.” like unless you’re married, have a ‘career’, and follow the life script, people treat you like you’re malfunctioning. and keiko’s just standing there like: what if i just… don’t?

and like… i get it. i get why she wants to stick to the konbini. it gives her order, purpose, a uniform, and zero existential crises (until people start poking).
but also, the people around her? kinda awful. they’re so desperate to “fix” her that they don’t care if it ruins her peace. just vibes, no autonomy.

also can we talk about shiraha?? that man was a walking reddit thread from hell. no further comment.

not sure i liked anyone in this book, but maybe that’s the point. it’s not about liking them. it's about watching them either become what they’re “supposed to” be, or resist it.

great pacing and thought-provoking beyond its weirdness. loved thinking about societal pressures, gender roles, and how we contribute to it while reading.

markelle e. e.

Social demands are the things that scare us but also motivate us, give us meaning yet fail to understand clearly why it exists at the first place. This was such a good demonstration of that.

Viet-Hung Nguyen

interesting and original concepts - i enjoyed reading from the narrator's perspective & get a glimpse into her mask as a convenience store woman that eventually becomes her crutch in living ++ how we in society impose our norms and beliefs on everyone else, and inadvertently shut out anyone who doesn't fit in our ideas of a mold. i can't say i enjoyed the addition of the guy (sorry i can't recall his name for the life of me) by the latter half of the book though. execution was also unfortunately a bit half baked, with structure & dialogue feeling unnatural and a little too template-ish, especially the narrator's conversations with others who, in varying degrees of harshness, denigrate her for her status in life (sister, guy, guy's sister-in law, friends). this may be in part because of the oddity of the subject matter, in part its status as a translated book to english -- but either way, it's what pushed this book from 3.5-2 for me

Never felt more seen as someone who wonders what society wants and expects out of me

Bernard olivares

i love japanese 7/11 tik tok! i really hated Shiraha’s character and i think that’s the point but i was hoping she would go little crazy and hit him with a shovel. But im glad she’s back home 

debbie <3

A book that was sometimes slow, often hilarious. Had some great, thought-provoking dialogue — a book I would love to discuss with someone else.

Keiko (no matter how we feel about her) has found her sense of purpose/ source of happiness from very early on, something that most of us could only wish for lol. 

Experiencing life and society through her eyes, it was interesting how frightened some people can become when in front of someone who lives through her particular rhythm, negating the traditional ways.

Marta

A book that was sometimes slow, often hilarious. Had some great, thought-provoking dialogue — a book I would love to discuss with someone else.
Keiko (no matter how we feel about her) has found her sense of purpose/ source of happiness from very early on, something that most of us could only wish for lol. 
Experiencing life and society through her eyes, it was interesting how frightened some people can become when in front of someone who lives through her particular rhythm, negating the traditional ways.


made me uncomfortable at some points, i don’t know

Carmen Malca

louv

moonstone

In this book, our female lead reaches a point where she grows weary of being the "foreign object." In her attempt to escape the perceived abnormality, Keiko Furukura finds herself losing her authentic self and experiencing firsthand the consequences of trying to fit into society's mold of "normalcy." How devastatingly her surroundings prefer normalcy, blinding to a messed up version of the normalcy itself (refering to "For her, normality—however messy—is far more comprehensible.")

And does being married, having children, and not working at a convenience store make you normal? 

🍁

In this book, our female lead reaches a point where she grows weary of being the "foreign object." In her attempt to escape the perceived abnormality, Keiko Furukura finds herself losing her authentic self and experiencing firsthand the consequences of trying to fit into society's mold of "normalcy." How devastatingly her surroundings prefer normalcy, blinding to a messed up version of the normalcy itself (refering to "For her, normality—however messy—is far more comprehensible.")

And does being married, having children, and not working at a convenience store make you normal? 

(PS. The male characters pissed me off)

convinience strore woman is not just a simple story, but a story on exploration of identity and societal expectations, told through the lens of a complex character entrenched in monotony all her life. the protagonist keiko furukura, grapple with the universal desire to belong, often feeling compelled to shrink herself into a form that society deems digestible. furukura's character emits "i am a convenience store worker or nothing" throughout her entire body, and it reflects the tragedy of tying one's worth to a role that the world perceives as insignificant, simply because one's individuality falls outside the bounds of what is considered to be "normal." this is heartbreaking yet thought-provoking at the same time because how much of ourselves must we compromise to conform to societal expectations? what does it even mean to be "normal"? 

in a way, i envy furukura. despite the triviality of her chosen path, she has something she genuinely loves and fully commits to—something many people spend their entire lives searching for. 

convenience store woman allows us to reflect on how we define worth, purpose, and normalcy in our lives. 

(ps. i almost did not finish this book bc it felt like a chore to push through some of the repetitive chapters in the first half. but my curiosity to understand furukura’s character kept me going, and i'm glad i did.)

convinience strore woman is not just a simple story, but a story on exploration of identity and societal expectations, told through the lens of a complex character entrenched in monotony all her life. the protagonist keiko furukura, grapple with the universal desire to belong, often feeling compelled to shrink herself into a form that society deems digestible. furukura's character emits "i am a convenience store worker or nothing" throughout her entire body, and it reflects the tragedy of tying one's worth to a role that the world perceives as insignificant, simply because one's individuality falls outside the bounds of what is considered to be "normal." this is heartbreaking yet thought-provoking at the same time because how much of ourselves must we compromise to conform to societal expectations? what does it even mean to be "normal"? 

in a way, i envy furukura. despite the triviality of her chosen path, she has something she genuinely loves and fully commits to—something many people spend their entire lives searching for. 

convenience store woman allows us to reflect on how we define worth, purpose, and normalcy in our lives. 

(ps. i almost did not finish this book bc it felt like a chore to push through some of the repetitive chapters in the first half. but my curiosity to understand furukura’s character kept me going, and i'm glad i did.)

Lynn Nguyen

holy shit. i was not expecting this to be as good as it was but this was such an unsettling yet direct and profound depiction of how women literally cannot fucking escape the burden of heteropatriarchy... will be thinking about this one for a while

🪢

the girls that get it get it…got me kinda sad though

moira

Quite bizarre and weirdly riveting, without insisting on a particular thesis. Rather than feeling like a literary puzzle I need to rearrange properly, this feels like someone’s recount of a series of events - leaving me to conclude whatever I felt like. 

Overall it is a critique of man’s innate desire for order in society, for preferring that a person be normal with problems than abnormal and perfectly fine. Rather than reject society for this and shun it, it is better to accept and live with this reality. Shura haram is as much an outcast and an abnormality as Furukura is - but his constant resistance to his own nature is his sin.

The convenience store shifts in Furukuras mind. At first a place where she could be normal and find a set of rules that befit societal standards, allowing her to wear a mask and become human, she shifts to understand it as a creature and a place with its own rules, a place where she belonged. The convenience store is no longer a means to an end - it is the end in and of itself, absorbing her.

Omar 

Quite bizarre and weirdly riveting, without insisting on a particular thesis. Rather than feeling like a literary puzzle I need to rearrange properly, this feels like someone’s recount of a series of events - leaving me to conclude whatever I felt like. 

Overall it is a critique of man’s innate desire for order in society, for preferring that a person be normal with problems than abnormal and perfectly fine. Rather than reject society for this and shun it, it is better to accept and live with this reality. Shura haram is as much an outcast and an abnormality as Furukura is - but his constant resistance to his own nature is his sin.

The convenience store shifts in Furukuras mind. At first a place where she could be normal and find a set of rules that befit societal standards, allowing her to wear a mask and become human, she shifts to understand it as a creature and a place with its own rules, a place where she belonged. The convenience store is no longer a means to an end - it is the end in and of itself, absorbing her.

I enjoyed exploring the experiences of Keiko, the main character, who seems to embody neurodivergent traits as she faces societal criticism for not meeting conventional expectations. She finds comfort in her routine at the convenience store, despite pressure from others to marry and have children like “normal” people. In contrast, Shiraha, while not entirely wrong in his anger toward societal norms, adopts a bitter and toxic perspective, which I found frustrating and misogynistic. 

Overall, it was an engaging, easy read, though it felt repetitive at times.

I enjoyed exploring the experiences of Keiko, the main character, who seems to embody neurodivergent traits as she faces societal criticism for not meeting conventional expectations. She finds comfort in her routine at the convenience store, despite pressure from others to marry and have children like “normal” people. In contrast, Shiraha, while not entirely wrong in his anger toward societal norms, adopts a bitter and toxic perspective, which I found frustrating and misogynistic. 

Overall, it was an engaging, easy read, though it felt repetitive at times.

jian

modern take on kafka’s the metamorphosis 

sofia mae

A story of an alien who tries to understand all intricacies of human society. Light, relatable, concise, it doesn't give you any answers on how to live but rather allows you to explore the definitions and applications of modern world rules and customs, allows you to question them along with Keiko who just wants to always be surrounded by the certainty and stability of a convenience store. 

I like Korean and Japanese modern prose for simplicity and minimalism of thought and story telling, but as I finish such books I'm always left with this feeling of incompleteness as if the author forgot to write the last chapter or there was a certain limit to the size of the book. Still looking forward to finding more interesting Japanese literature to stop coming back to Murakami all the time. 

llikaditoo 

A story of an alien who tries to understand all intricacies of human society. Light, relatable, concise, it doesn't give you any answers on how to live but rather allows you to explore the definitions and applications of modern world rules and customs, allows you to question them along with Keiko who just wants to always be surrounded by the certainty and stability of a convenience store. 

I like Korean and Japanese modern prose for simplicity and minimalism of thought and story telling, but as I finish such books I'm always left with this feeling of incompleteness as if the author forgot to write the last chapter or there was a certain limit to the size of the book. Still looking forward to finding more interesting Japanese literature to stop coming back to Murakami all the time. 

Keiko isn't normal. At school and university people find her odd, and her family worries she will never fit in. To make them happy, she takes a job at a convenience store. But in Keiko's circle it just won't do for an unmarried woman to spend her time stacking shelves and ordering green tea. As the pressure to find a new job - or worse, a husband - increases, Keiko is forced to take desperate action...

Everyone deserves to be recognized and understood. Keiko was a refreshing narrator. Being content is not equal to being unhappy

Drue Thomas &
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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Drue Thomas &Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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Drue Thomas &
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata