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Convenience Store Woman Paperback – January 1, 2019

by Sayaka Murata (Author)

4.0 17,912 ratings

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Meet Keiko.Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years.Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married.But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store...*Convenience Store Woman comes in three different colours; the colour you receive will be chosen at random*

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Granta Books (January 1, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 163 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846276845
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846276842
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.39 x 7.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #49,865 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 17,912 ratings

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Ginny Tapley Takemori
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Ginny Tapley Takemori has translated fiction by more than a dozen early modern and contemporary Japanese writers, ranging from such early literary giants as Izumi Kyoka and Okamoto Kido to contemporary bestsellers Ryu Murakami and Miyabe Miyuki, and her translations have also appeared in Granta, Freeman’s, Words Without Borders, and a number of anthologies. Her translation of Sayaka Murata’s Akutagawa prizewinning novel Convenience Store Woman was awarded the 2020-2021 Lindsey and Masao Miyoshi Prize and shortlisted for the 2019 Indies Choice and Best Translated Book Awards. Her translations of Kyoko Nakajima’s Naoki prizewinning The Little House was published in February 2019, and Sayaka Murata’s Earthlings in 2020.
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Sayaka Murata
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17,912 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They describe the plot as relatable and funny. The writing quality is described as clear and understandable. Readers find the book insightful and refreshing, making them appreciate the mundane aspects of daily life. Many describe it as unique and avant-garde. However, opinions differ on the character development - some find the main character interesting and strong, while others find her flat and awkward.

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Readability Plot Writing quality Thought provoking Uniqueness Character development Length Humor

131 customers mention "Readability"125 positive6 negative

Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They describe it as a quick, lighthearted read that leaves them feeling hypnotized by the story. The book is described as captivating and unique, with a unique viewpoint.

"The book is well translated, enjoyable to read...." Read more

"...is a heavy book, darkly philosophical and cerebral- The story is told with a very light hand. We meet many people that we like...." Read more

"Made me think a lot! It’s a dynamic and captivating book that makes you shift perspectives along the way. Worth reading." Read more

"...It is worth a read. I am glad I came across it." Read more

71 customers mention "Plot"55 positive16 negative

Customers find the plot relatable and humorous. They describe the book as quirky, witty, and endearing. The characters are unique yet relatable.

"...I found certain passages fascinating in terms of word usage — it was understandable although not exactly how we might say certain things...." Read more

"...And Convenience Store Clerk definitely does that! It’s a funny and nuanced story of one Japanese girl’s search to find her place in society...." Read more

"Quick read, quirky and amusing. The main narrator is a woman who cannot "do" emotions and tries to take her cues from those around her...." Read more

"...The novel does not have an elaborate plot and the drama and tension largely comes from the narrator’s observation of her own life and others as a..." Read more

68 customers mention "Writing quality"65 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book good. They describe it as a nice, easy read that is well-written and told in a simple way. The protagonist is described as deceptively simple. It's a quick, light read that makes you take a look at life.

"The book is well translated, enjoyable to read...." Read more

"...What makes this a natural home for Keiko is that it comes with a written set of instructions. There is a correct time and place for everything...." Read more

"...At 163 pages in the compact hardcover, it is a quick read. I was able to finish the book in a single sitting...." Read more

"...I found certain passages fascinating in terms of word usage — it was understandable although not exactly how we might say certain things...." Read more

66 customers mention "Thought provoking"66 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and refreshing. They appreciate the mundane parts of daily life. The characters are relatable, and the book is an introspective examination of the world through Keiko's eyes. Readers also mention that the novel is about finding a purpose in life and being content with one's own life and job.

"...It is a very easy read and mostly family friendly admitting to a few ‘bad’ words and some mostly negative sexual suggestions...." Read more

"Really would have been better as a short story. A clever premise, with a weary execution...." Read more

"Made me think a lot! It’s a dynamic and captivating book that makes you shift perspectives along the way. Worth reading." Read more

"...This book was translated from the Japanese...." Read more

20 customers mention "Uniqueness"20 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's uniqueness. They find it original, charming, and remarkable. The writing style is described as clever, quirky, and elegant.

"...Refreshing and honestly pretty relatable. Well written and a lovely, quick slice of life read." Read more

"This book was recommended to me, and it was a short, unique, enjoyable read...." Read more

"Being Different. "Being There." Makes you think about conventions. Conformity. Purpose in life. Are those "not quite right" lost?..." Read more

"It was worth reading for me. for many reason. It was original, informative about Japanese convenience stores, quirky, honest, insightful for knowing..." Read more

28 customers mention "Character development"19 positive9 negative

Customers have different views on the character development. Some find the main character interesting and sympathetic, while others feel the character is awkward or two-dimensional.

"This book is about a very interesting character. The author takes a normal aspect of human behavior and what-ifs it all the way to the edge...." Read more

"...with her subject, and the reader is rewarded with an unusual story about an unusual character, set in the most pedestrian of locations, a..." Read more

"...short story she meets one of the most unsympathetic, unlikable characters in almost any story...." Read more

"...It was a quick read, which I enjoyed. I loved the story and characters. I wish there were more books like this!" Read more

19 customers mention "Length"11 positive8 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it short and easy to read, while others feel it lacks a plot.

"Convenience Store Woman is a slim, unsettling novel with a dark sense of humor that is largely one-note in its tone and premise: The novel..." Read more

"...This one does, to a degree. It's short, more novella-length, probably because it lacks much of a plot...." Read more

"Though tiny and easy to read, Sayaka Murata's "Convenience Store Woman," won the Akutagawa Prize, Japan's most prestigious literary award..." Read more

"...Important to note that if for some reason you don't like the book, it was short!!" Read more

13 customers mention "Humor"7 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the humor in the book. Some find it sarcastic, with no intent to ridicule, and an interesting nihilistic vibe. Others find it odd, not funny, or entertaining, with a mean character. Overall, opinions vary on whether the humor is engaging or not.

"...captures you early on, and paints a good portrayal of low end jobs, gender roles, the inflexibility of societal expectations in Japan, and how some..." Read more

"...The metaphor is almost chilling, but the story while dark isn't unhappy...." Read more

"...It is told very plainly and has a certain nihilistic vibe. I really liked it and look forward to reading other books by the same author...." Read more

"...most of the main characters outside of our protagonist have few redeeming qualities...." Read more

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Bick
Brilliant Quirky Memorable
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2025
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The book is well translated, enjoyable to read.
Ironic with the pressure to conform to the society’s traditional expectations… everybody has a right to live the life as they wish and be happy.
I love the book

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Phred
A novella about someone not like us
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2020
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Sayaka Murata’s brief, but to the point Convenience Store Woman took me more places than its 163 pages might promise. It is a very easy read and mostly family friendly admitting to a few ‘bad’ words and some mostly negative sexual suggestions. Then there is what happens when you let your mind delve into the depth of the novella. Highly recommend as a good use of a few hours.

At various time I thought I knew the deeper meaning of the book only to realize there was more and more ways to think of it. On the surface we have a mid-thirties, underachieving woman who has failed to be much of what society (Japanese) expects of its friends, family and neighbors. Because she does not conform she is held as a sympathetic figure in need of curing or of suspicion.

First stop: This is about a very Japanese middle-class suburban world but it is far more universal than one time and place. Anyone one too long single in most countries is going to garner some amount of suspicion. Try being the too long single Uncle and notice the almost unsaid concerns about you being around children. Listen to how you might speak about people who may not be striving for promotion, who are making do in jobs that appear to be beneath them and others who, on the surface do not seem like ‘us’.

Our protagonist and narrator Keiko Furukura is, for the last eighteen years and has only ever been a part time employee of the Smile Mart Convenience Store. We cannot be sure that she is happy there as we can be sure she is using it as a safe place where she knows what she is doing and being who she is expected to be. She has never dated, been married has no children or pets. As far as we know she experiences no sexual interests, habits or even private thoughts. She did not complete her education and lives in polite squalor in a tiny apartment. She has family in the form of a very supportive sister and loving mother.

Since her childhood people have wanted to cure her and help her become more like what they think would make her life a happy one. Her supportive sister would be relieved to find her sister dating, or seeking a better job. Everyone with whom Keiko comes into social contact either wants her to not be herself, or to get sufficient explanation to determine if she is a threat.

If you read no more deeply than that the book is about the how unfair it is of us (Japanese or not) to expect others to live and believe and aspire as we do. But we also have evidence that Keiko is coldly analytical and not very empathetic. Some would place her on some scale of autistic. This point is deliberately left vague. It is possible to argue that left to her uncontrolled instincts, she would be dangerous. Given another theme of the book, it is an instinctive habit of humans and animals to spend a certain amount of time deciding if a stranger is a threat. This is not just a Japanese thing it is universal.

The question of Keiko being happy in the Smile Mart is also subtle. What makes this a natural home for Keiko is that it comes with a written set of instructions. There is a correct time and place for everything. There is a evan a requirement to live outside work in such a way to insure you arrive ready and rested, for work. At some point the reader is expected to realize that living in a society also requires living by certain rules. Keiko ultimately realizes this, but the lack of written instructions is what might have left her coldly analytical personality unable to cope.

Late in the short story she meets one of the most unsympathetic, unlikable characters in almost any story. Keiko does not like him, but her analytical mind understands that he is a mirror of herself.

The ultimate conflict of this book is the problem or choice Keiko must make between a world of people like herself, or a world of people not like her. This is a very different thought problem for the reader than, why cannot we accept people for what they are.

Least you conclude that this is a heavy book, darkly philosophical and cerebral- The story is told with a very light hand. We meet many people that we like. We can share Kieko’s frustrations and her victories. She is an admirable person and her world is one that, for all its lack of fairy tale trappings is one not that different from or hostile towards the one we inhabit.

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Fastidious Kingdoms
3.5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2025
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Really would have been better as a short story. A clever premise, with a weary execution.

By coincidence, I read The Remains of the Day earlier this week. Same vibes.

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Gabriela Belo Soares
quick and captivating
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2025
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Made me think a lot! It’s a dynamic and captivating book that makes you shift perspectives along the way. Worth reading.

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Jonathan
A short, unsettling novel that is worth your (brief) time if you can accept its unusual narrator
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
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Convenience Store Woman is a slim, unsettling novel with a dark sense of humor that is largely one-note in its tone and premise: The novel represents the everyday life of Keiko Furukawa a single, middle-aged woman in one of Japan’s ubiquitous 24-hour convenience stores. She has been working as a basic employee for eighteen years, ever since graduating high school. Working at these stores has become the narrator’s reason for living, which seems to trouble almost everyone but herself.

The novel does not have an elaborate plot and the drama and tension largely comes from the narrator’s observation of her own life and others as a convenience store employee. But for those who may be looking to read the book because of this conceit, the personality of the narrator may make or break how and whether or not you read the book. While I recommend the book, the book’s narrator main character Keiko Furukawa is depicted as a person who, to quote the character herself: "would no longer do anything of my own accord, and would either just mimic what everyone else was doing, or simply follow instructions."

In both childhood flashbacks and repeated interjections throughout the novel it is repeatedly mentioned how “emotionless” Keiko feels she is and how she sees herself more as a vessel and a representation of the emotions and mores of her environment. Murata often makes it a point to frame Keiko's thoughts and behaviors in each scene to deliberately highlight how both emotionless and nonplussed Keiko can be toward life. Keiko's personality and the reader’s is tested when Keiko enters an unorthodox relationship with a toxic and verbally abusive man. This man is seen as a failure by family, former neighbors and coworkers. In his rage, he sees not just women but all people and the world itself as having personally wronged him. Her relentless tolerance of this poisonous individual and his abuse tests her patience and likely will for some readers as well.

The novel’s sardonic humor and grim depiction of the constant pressure for women to get married and have children is a lasting one. I came to see the comedy from the drama of working as a cog in the 24/7 low-wage, high-turnover convenience store world as second to the determinedly emotionless way the narrator sees the world.

At 163 pages in the compact hardcover, it is a quick read. I was able to finish the book in a single sitting. Ginny Tapley Takemori’s translation of Murata’s prose is unfussy and delivers the main character’s dry and often deadpan voice simply.

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36 people found this helpful

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Leanne Burkholder
interesting and insightful book
Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2025
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This book was well written-it gives insights into Japanese culture through the life of a convenience store and the worker. Highly recommend.

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Iryna
I liked it
Reviewed in Germany on February 9, 2025
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Light and relaxed reading

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Cliente Amazon
So good
Reviewed in Spain on February 1, 2025
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So good

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James
Satisfaite
Reviewed in Belgium on October 17, 2024
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Personnelle

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Very good and reassuring for my girlies. Everything dobę is in this blok is in fiction dont do it!! Tho i would love to do it
You are NOT replacable
Reviewed in Poland on May 3, 2023
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Not in your workplace! If you are like me and think you have only as much value as your labor - this book is Perfect for you:)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Quirky Memorable

4.0 out of 5 stars A novella about someone not like us

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars

5.0 out of 5 stars quick and captivating

4.0 out of 5 stars A short, unsettling novel that is worth your (brief) time if you can accept its unusual narrator

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5.0 out of 5 stars interesting and insightful book

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked it

5.0 out of 5 stars So good

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfaite

5.0 out of 5 stars You are NOT replacable

Brilliant Quirky Memorable

A novella about someone not like us

3.5 stars

quick and captivating

A short, unsettling novel that is worth your (brief) time if you can accept its unusual narrator

interesting and insightful book

I liked it

So good

Satisfaite

You are NOT replacable