Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata
Details
The results are in! The winner of our poll is Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata. Convenience Store Woman was in the lead in the first round of voting by one vote but only received 33.3% of the first choice votes, so we implemented ranked choice. Two of the books were tied for last place, so both were eliminated in the first round. When those ballots were redistributed to those people's next highest choice, Convenience Store Woman was the clear winner with 63% of the votes. Thank you to everyone who voted! If you didn't hear about the poll or otherwise have not been receiving Meetup messages, email one.drink.minimum.book@gmail.com and we'll be happy to add you to our mailing list. Your email address will remain private as we send all messages blind cc.
LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE BELIEVER BOOK AWARD • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST TRANSLATED BOOK AWARD • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, BUZZFEED, GLOBE AND MAIL, BUSTLE, WBUR, HUDSON, LIBRARY JOURNAL, AND SHELF AWARENESS
The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone, Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits in to the rigidity of its work culture only too well.
Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. For her part, in the convenience store she finds a predictable world mandated by the store manual, which dictates how the workers should act and what they should say, and she copies her coworkers’ style of dress and speech patterns so that she can play the part of a normal person. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life, but is aware that she is not living up to society’s expectations and causing her family to worry about her. When a similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in the store, he will upset Keiko’s contented stasis—but will it be for the better?
Sayaka Murata brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the familiar convenience store that is so much part of life in Japan. With some laugh-out-loud moments prompted by the disconnect between Keiko’s thoughts and those of the people around her, she provides a sharp look at Japanese society and the pressure to conform, as well as penetrating insights into the female mind. Convenience Store Woman is a fresh, charming portrait of an unforgettable heroine that recalls Banana Yoshimoto, Han Kang, and Amélie.
— description from the publisher Grove Atlantic
“In Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman, a small, elegant and deadpan novel, a woman senses that society finds her strange, so she culls herself from the herd before anyone else can do it... Casts a fluorescent spell... A thrifty and offbeat exploration of what we must each leave behind to participate in the world.”
—Dwight Garner, New York Times
“Alienation gets deliciously perverse treatment in Convenience Store Woman... Murata herself spent years as a convenience store employee. And one pleasure of this book is her detailed portrait of how such a place actually works. Yet the book’s true brilliance lies in Murata’s way of subverting our expectations... With bracing good humor...Murata celebrate[s] the quiet heroism of women who accept the cost of being themselves.”
—John Powers, NPR “Fresh Air”
“Keiko, a defiantly oddball 36-year-old woman, has worked in a dead-end job as a convenience store cashier in Tokyo for half her life. She lives alone and has never been in a romantic relationship, or even had sex. And she is perfectly happy with all of it... Written in plain-spoken prose, the slim volume focuses on a character who in many ways personifies a demographic panic in Japan.”
—Motoko Rich, New York Times (profile)
Attendance policy: Please be considerate of others!
- RSVP: Sign up if you plan to attend.
- Cancellations: If you need to cancel, please update your RSVP as soon as possible.
- Attendance: Show up if you are on the “Going” list.
- Emergencies: If a last-minute emergency arises, please communicate as soon as you can.
- Consequences: Repeated lack of consideration may result in removal from the group.
Available in local libraries:
If you have any trouble signing up, please comment on the event, message Chris or Gary, or email one.drink.minimum.book@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to add you.
Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata