Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Japanese convenience store is a great invention. Found on every street corner in the cities, it not only acts as a small supermarket but also sells fresh food (bento boxes, sandwiches, rice balls etc) which can be warmed in the store; it has a huge array of refrigerated drinks and also sells fresh coffee; it accepts mail and parcels; enables customers to pay utility bills, etc. The staff has been well-trained and everyone in every shop everywhere in Japan acts in the same fashion according to a detailed manual.

The author, Murata Sayaka, has herself worked for many years in such a convenience store and the novel is based on her experiences. The protagonist of the novel has problems to behave like an "ordinary person" and interact with others. She is therefore happy to work in a convenience store as the store manual with its structured tasks and fixed ways of speaking to customers helps her cope. She also takes care to copy the speech and dress of her colleagues in order not to stand out.

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. Friends and colleagues begin to prod her - why doesn't she marry and have children? Then a similarly alienated but cynical and bitter young man comes to work in the store, and upsets her contented stasis, even moving in with her... will it be for the better? This novella is a plea for non-conformity in the language of the convenience store, ironically the most conformist institution in Japan.



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