Convenience Store Woman Winner of the Akutagawa-Preis 2016

Sayaka Murata, in my eyes, is the queen of writing the weirdest stories ever. In this book we follow Keiko through her one and only love: her work. She works at a convenience store, despite it being seen as no accomplishment at her age and in Japan. Still, through every nagging by her friends and the social pressure, she keeps holding to her principles. A funny, weird, and short read and probably one of my all-time favorites.

With Keiko we find a protagonist who is freshly unique and unintentionally funny, while showing bravery that is inspiring. This is a funny, weird portrayal of society's expectations of people, especially of single women. It also shows how specific jobs are looked down on, as if not being challenging enough and its workers being unworthy. Very contradictory to the reality of jobs like this being essential, which is something that during the pandemic has been made very clear. This is a unique book with a fresh take on feminism, work culture and contemporary life with a very clear massage. Don‘t sacrifice yourself trying to please the world. Follow or forge the path you want. Only then will you find happiness.

As an avid reader of Sayaka Murata's work ‘Convenience Store Woman’ was my first and still is my absolute favorite of her books. I have always struggled to enjoy the modern representation of neurodivergent protagonists, either because it was so overly comical that it was borderline offensive or because I simply didn’t find it to be relatable. ‘Convenience Store Woman’ is different. Keiko is 36, working at a convenience store, no children or partner, her life seems like the opposite of what Japanese society finds to be an appropriate path for a woman in their mid-thirties. Murata beautifully describes the experience of following dreams and having aspirations that the general society deems unworthy to dream of and unnecessary to care about, while also being put under pressure as a woman for not feeling the urge to create a family. You follow Keiko's struggle with her peers and her attempts to be left alone by them, leading to many unhappy moments but ultimately make her return to hinobo, her happy place. A must read for girls and women who feel ashamed of their unconventional dreams.

Keiko has never fit in until she finally finds her sole purpose and identity in being a convenience store worker. However, almost two decades later, Keiko still has not considered looking for another, more „prestigious“ job, and both family and friends start expressing discomfort with her refusing to leave her beloved store. Neither do they understand how she does not want to pursue any relationship with a man and prefers to stay a virgin at 36 years old. They want her to be „cured“. But is there anything wrong when being a store worker is all that Keiko ever needed in life? I had high expectations when I bought this book, and Murata has served all of them! It is a short read (sadly) and might be considered a novella, but provides you with a good portion of humour told from the perspective of a witty woman. Keiko is such a unique protagonist you do not get to read about all day. She has always struggled to fit in, but as an employee at a convenience store she is doing brilliant, and always works in accordance with the store‘s needs. With a manual at hand, she also knows how to handle every situation she might face at the store, which truly gives her a sense of control she has always lacked in life and still does off work. The book perfectly illustrates how you can be happy in doing what you do, but may be considered insufficient or abnormal by society if you fail to comply with its demands. It is doing that in a delightful way that makes you giggle here and there and – in my case, unable to put the book down. I really enjoyed reading „Convenience Store Woman“ and I cannot wait to read another book written by Murata!

At the age of thirty-six, Keiko Furukura has worked at the same convenience store for eighteen years and seen seven managers as well as a fleeting number of co-workers and part-time jobbers. In regular intervals, Keiko is socially pressured by her family and friends to opt for something bigger and better in life. For a more rewarding job, for a husband, for a bigger apartment, for children - in short for everything the average public considers normal and compliant. However, Keiko is NOT normal. Since early childhood, Keiko is unable to read facial expressions and verbal cues correctly and finds herself in many situations in which her behaviour is considered inappropriate. As a result, Keiko has established a safe space for herself with clear-cut boundaries, tasks and living-conditions that make her feel happy and secure. Blind to her contentment and happiness, her peers refuse to accept Keiko the way she is and try to fix her, thus giving her the feeling of an outcast. In this way, it is not a coincidence that Keiko's predicament remains undiagnosed, thereby underlining all the more Murata's criticism of insufficient mental health awareness and the resulting prejudices the affected individuals have to deal with. Murata is a strong contemporary voice and her novel a remarkable case study of living with Asperger's syndrome.