Convenience Store Woman

I would not say that this was my favorite book ever.  It actually did not entice me as some of the others have.  But I did finish it.  And at the end, I thought that it absolutely said something about society.  I liked the fact that the main character found that she was entirely OK with who she was.  There was a part of me that wanted someone to "find her" and promote her to some sort of job overseeing other convenience stores.  She would have been perfect for that!

But it was Ok that she would just look for a job in some convenience store.  She would get back to living once she found that job.  She would be content to be exactly that person.

Here is the review from Amazon:


Winner of Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize, Convenience Store Woman is the incomparable story of Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident who has been working at the Hiiromachi “Smile Mart” for the past eighteen years. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but in her convenience store, she is able to find peace and purpose with rules clearly delineated clearly by the store’s manual, and copying her colleagues’ dress, mannerisms, and speech. She plays the part of a “normal person” excellently―more or less. Keiko is very happy, but those close to her pressure her to find a husband and a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action.