Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Convenience Store Woman

Holy cow, what a read. I picked up this book and was sucked in from the first description of the protagonist's childhood. This story is not just about working at a convenience store: it's a critique of society, how society treats those deemed neurodivergent or outside the norm, how society treats women, and other messy feelings. I was utterly engrossed by Sayaka Murata's writing and couldn't put the book down. Sometimes, life is not about other people's expectations, but finding the place where you belong and that feels true to you... even if that place is a convenience store.

Content Warnings

glitterdeww's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I need new vocabulary to accurately describe the immense treat that is Convenience Store Woman. “Mundane yet strange,” feels far too broad. The vibes of this story feel like a symphony of everyday sounds, a cognitively intimate awareness of other humans, and the comfort of allowing oneself to be a small piece of a well-functioning machine.

Murata’s acclaimed short novel follows Keiko Furukura, a middle aged woman in Japan that has worked at a convenience store for 18 years. She is described as unusual, some type of social outcast. Through her point of view, the reader gains access to her uncomfortable yet astute inner workings. The additional characters serve as everything from pained yet caring family, to hateful and emotionally blind fellow outcasts.

As the societal criticism of Keiko’s life choices is further explored, I was left with only frustration for her sake. Keiko has found routine, peace, and connectedness through her work. If the general tasks she did to take up her time were done in service to a church or nunnery, no one would bat an eye. This story does well to lay out hypocrisy and prejudice in a lovely and succinct manner.

Also, the back of my book contained Murata’s essay that first appeared in Literally Hub on June 14th, 2018. I was rolling, omg. It's just as fantastic and well worth the read.

Content Warnings

shoelace's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

slaywithsteph's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

charlie_woodchipper's review against another edition

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lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Impressive how this was successfully made into something somewhat lighthearted. It was a bit unsettling at times, and could easily have been turned into a horror book. But it wasn't, and that made the experience special, different. I don't think I've read something quite like that before. It tackled extreme obsession without being violent or gory or creepy. It made convenient stores appear cozy and homy somehow, because of the protagonist point of view

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gabriella_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This felt like a tragicomedy because of the hypercapitalism just bleeding into everything but the delivery was so FUNNY sometimes. She banished an incel to the bathtub because he was just so stinky in every sense. Lots to pick apart with this and it was very worth the read

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flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

spooderman's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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