Book Review: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
May 08, 2024
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Title: Convenience Store Woman
Author: Sayaka Murata
Synopsis (copied from Goodreads):
Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura.
Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction―many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual―and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action.
Personal Review [contain spoilers]:
This book tells the dark reality of our society from the perspective of Keiko Furukura. She was a strange one, always the odd one in the world full of 'normal' people. She lived her life by manuals. It wasn't specified in the novel, but it is possible to assume she might be somewhere on the autistic spectrum.
In our society, it would be considered she is weird, she couldn't understand why people buried the dead bird when they could've eaten it instead. She hit the boys in her class with a shovel when other people screamed to stop them fighting so ever since then she kept her mouth shut. She thought it was better that way. Her thoughts and actions didn't seem to align with 'normal' people.
So what did she do? She started to reject herself, forced to keep her mouth shut. No unasked opinions, no thinking at all. Just follow as all the other people do.
There was never a place that makes her feel enough nor wanted until she land herself a part time job at the convenience store. Being a store worker is easy. Just follow the manuals given and she'll be fine. When it's a rainy day, the sandwiches and onigiris sell faster. When it's hot people would want to buy cold drinks so be sure to stock enough of them on the fridge. This was her place. Finally, a place she belongs to. A place anyone wouldn't be able to figure her odd self.
Now, 18 years later, still at the same job, the social pressure started to sink in as she realized store workers are replaceable. If we are 'broken' or considered no longer useful for the store, we would have gotten sacked. She feared her time would soon come.
When she met Shiraha, a lazy, self-victimizing guy who gaslighted her into living rent-free in her apartment, she started receiving compliments from others around her for the first time.
"You got a boyfriend? Finally!"
"I thought it was strange how you never fall in love. I knew you could do it!"
At this point of the story, I was frustrated with her but I know it wasn't her fault. Shiraha was living off her minimum wage. She worked everyday even on the weekend to earn more money for the both of them while that asshole guy slept and watched movies all day.
Of course in real life, you'd seen this type of guy very often. So typical description of what Malays called 'biawak hidup'.
At first, letting Shiraha lived off her and going around telling others that she was finally living with a man, people complimented her and she once again felt safe and fit the society standards. Then, trouble started rolling in as it turned out Shiraha was not only a lazy guy, but he also didn't pay for his previous rent, a narcisstic, lied about their relationship and even looked down on Furukura. I was PISSEDDD because bij, look in the mirror pls.
But of course Furukura didn't mind that guy because in her mind, it was necessary to keep him around for her to fit into the society.
Finally, the final plot of the story, Shiraha told her to resign and find regular jobs that could feed both of them (the audacity???). She did as he told. Since then, she felt like losing her purpose of life. All her life, for 18 years, she dedicated her body and time for the convenience store. She kept her nails short and hair in natural colour. But now she didn't know when is the right time to go to sleep. She only got up from her bed to eat.
When she finally went out after weeks of staying at home for a job interview, she saw a convenience store nearby. She went in, and there it goes: the smell, the tills, the sandwich and bread displays, the fridge. For once, not according to life manual or society standards, she decided for herself, that she wanted to get a job as a store keeper.
The ending was super nice. We saw how pressured she felt as she had to present her 'normal' self in front of others. When she finally broke free from it, I was TEARFUL. I can't believe I was rooting for a fictional character this much.
Rating: 5 STARSS DEFINITELYYY
The writing style is very simple and on point. This was my first time reading Sayaka Murata, and honestly, I love it so much. It fits perfectly with this kind of character, who doesn't think much and only say the necessary stuffs.
I'm looking forward to read more of her works ^^
Recommended? YESSS PLEASE GO READ IT YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
Honestly, being an adult is hard. As we went on with the flow of life, sometimes we don't know what path should we take nor if we are doing it correctly. Will people be satisfied if I earn this much? Is it okay if I stay unmarried for the rest of my life? As we get older these questions are unavoidable. We kept questioning ourselves, losing faith in everything. This was the issue the author wanted to address on.
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