Book Review - Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata/コンビニ人間 著者： 村田 沙耶香

 Convenience Store Woman/コンビニ人間 is a short award winning novel about a socially awkward 36 year old woman Keiko Furukura, who has worked at a convenience store for 18 years. From a young age, Keiko realized that she was unusual, possessing a peculiar nature that bewildered others when she expressed her thoughts and actions, ultimately causing some social complications.

Within the structured realm of the konbini, where every step is dictated by the company manual, Keiko manages to conform to societal expectations and maintain an acceptable identity among her peers. She carefully mimics the behavior, attire, and even the way of speaking of her colleagues. Although Keiko maintains a few friendships and a connection with her sister, she increasingly struggles to elucidate why, even after nearly two decades, she remains single and toils away as a temporary employee at a convenience store.

It is during this time that Keiko encounters Shiraha, a man who fails to secure stable employment and resides on the fringes of society, defying conventional norms. 

With regards to reading コンビニ人間 in Japanese I found it was fairly easy to read without much technical language. Readers with N2 level of Japanese should be able to handle this book fairly comfortably. The story is interesting with some dramatic twists and the finale packs a surprise that ties the whole story together very well. Lastly, if you are living in Japan or planning to come to Japan in the future it may give you a chance to think again about the lives of konbini workers and see their work in a new light.  

Audible Version - https://bit.ly/3NzHZ9y

Kindle/Book Version - https://amzn.to/3CYXWBs

Happy reading!