Convenience Store Woman

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

Being seen as human is truly inconvenient

Keiko is a 36 year old convenience store worker who has worked at the same store for half her life. The konbini is her safe space from the outside pressures of friends and family who seem intent on her getting a 'real job' or 'settling down'. The book makes it quite clear that Keiko thinks very differently from most people, sometimes frighteningly so, but the structured environment of the konbini allows her to fit in and thrive.

Her attempts to fit in by cooperating with an exceptionally odious but somewhat like-minded man eventually lead to the loss of this safe haven when her coworkers start seeing her as a human woman rather than a convenience store worker. Cast out and adrift, for the first time she has to reckon with who she is without her job.

The book's an interesting glimpse into the mind of someone quite firmly on one end of the spectrum and how the world might look to them, though as with Kim Jiyoung I think the message is diluted somewhat by its confluence of extreme characteristics in a fictional person. An enjoyable read nonetheless, not least because The Wife read it at the same time so we could have our own little book club.