Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

 

Convenience Store Woman

by Sayaka Murata

This novel was odd, but hypnotic in a way. It is my first foray into translated Japanese books. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I'm still not sure how I felt about the writing style. It wasn't bad, but it was very straightforward, simple, and almost clinical.

Convenience Store Woman follows Keiko, a 36-year-old convenience store worker who, I suspect, is autistic. She is certainly unsure of how to navigate the world as a "normal" member of society. Having failed at any other employment, Keiko finds that her job at the Smile Mart suits her well. She has a manual, a uniform, and can navigate her work day via a script of stock phrases and actions that she knows are expected of her. She thrives in this environment. 

All of her life Keiko has struggled with understanding what people expect of her. Her solutions to problems posed in her environment are often violent, simply because they are the quickest and most effective way to solve them. She finds that if she monitors the expressions and responses of those around her she can mimic what she thinks society perceives as "correct" behaviors. While working at the convenience store she mimics the speech patterns and attitudes of her coworkers and managers, finding herself accepted if she does so. In order to placate her family, who worry about her, Keiko takes in a Smile Mart employee, Shiraha (who was fired and is a first-rate jerk and misogynist), pretending that he is her new boyfriend. She treats him like a pet. Her sister is ecstatic about this turn of events. But when her sister learns about Keiko's plan, she is devastated. Will Keiko ever be normal?

Keiko even quits her job at the Smile Mart because she so desperately wants to do what everyone expects of her. But she finds that it is the only place she truly fits in. In fact, she feels a deep connection with the store, almost a love affair with it.

This book was fascinating. It didn't blow me away, but I found Keiko to be a compelling character. I could almost understand what it might be like to live with autism. I can certainly identify with Keiko's inability to fit in with what society expects from her. As a reader, I in no way pitied Keiko or even wanted her to change. In fact, I was rooting for her to be her own person and to do what made her happy. Still, the story had a somewhat sinister feeling to it, which I liked, but didn't expect. All of the characters were perhaps overdrawn, but they were serving a function for the story. I'm giving Convenience Store Woman 4 stars.