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 .
