Convenience Store Woman
by Sayaka Murata Genre: Fiction Published: June 2018 Ratings: 3/5
Keiko Furukura spent 18 years of her life working part-time at the Smile Mart, outside Hiiromachi Station. As a 36-year-old singleton, Keiko’s lifestyle seemed unconventional to her family and friends.
Since young, Keiko’s problem-solving methods were unorthodox. One specific incident she recalled was when some boys started fighting that caused a big commotion in her primary school. To stop the fight, she took out a spade from the school’s shed, ran over to the unruly boys, and bashed one of them over the head.
Queries about her single hood and full-time employment status were unavoidable while hanging out with her old friends. To not be caught off guard, Keiko consulted her sister to formulate persuasive replies.
The only comfortable environment for Keiko was the convenience store. Working at the store was the only place she felt socially accepted by her colleagues and customers.
Keiko’s living situation changed with the arrival of Shiraha, the misanthropic colleague who worked at the Smile Mart for a short while. Keiko assumed that Shiraha faced a similar predicament and offered him to live with her. Surprisingly, people around Keiko were elated to learn about the news.
Keiko only realized that Shiraha was playing a ruse to avoid a debt owed to his younger brother when Shiraha’s sister-in-law paid a surprise visit to the flat. Shiraha deceived his sister-in-law by concocting a plan to repay his debt once his online business establishes and Keiko secured a full-time job.
Following Shiraha’s plan, Keiko managed to secure an interview with a temping agency after resigning from the Smile Mart. On the day of her interview appointment, Keiko visited a convenience store in the business district. The hustle and bustle of the store urged Keiko to put on her store clerk’s hat. Shiraha was mortified to see Keiko engrossed in the store, that he dragged her out and belittled her.
Keiko pulled her hand from Shiraha’s grip and walked away from him. She proceeded to cancel her interview appointment and felt driven to find a new store to work in. Keiko finally found the profound self-respect to be a convenience store worker.
Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman was originally written in Japanese and published in 2016. The English version of the novel was released by Grove Press in 2018.
