Reviews

La dependienta by Sayaka Murata

hmwolf2017's review against another edition

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4.0

A delightful satire of capitalism or a neurodivergent slice-of-life fiction, perhaps both.

books_hay's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

alexrinehart's review against another edition

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4.0

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I picked this novel up from the library when looking for translated fiction and fiction with autistic representation. It's not explicitly stated in this book that Keiko is on the autism spectrum, but I believe it's interpreted by autistic reviewers that she is on the spectrum. At least, that's how I found this book, from a list of books with autistic representation.

This book was mundane but addicting. It was so interesting to read from Keiko's point of view and about her reality. I related to her in a lot of ways when she described her
Spoilerstrategies to blend in with other people by observing their fashion and makeup choices.
I learned from reading this book that I enjoy character study stories.

This book also had one of the most irritating male characters I have ever read. The man, that I can't remember the name of, that becomes a large part of the story gives off huge incel vibes. He is my least favorite male character and character I have read thus far.

There is some internalized ableism that it in the book, and it didn't feel like it was addressed. The ableism was just present and normalized. The word "fix" and "fixed" were used in relation to Keiko's inabilities to blend in with "normal" society. Maybe this is also a translation issue.

I would highly recommend this book to people interested in contemporaries, translated works, character studies, and autistic representation (however I am not an #ownvoices reviewer for autism).

I don't think there is any highly mature content, unless you consider the Incel's toxicity in the book mature. But I think this book could be read by young adult readers.

Reader-Provided Content/Trigger Warnings

indiabulman's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jouska64's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.75

Enjoyable read. The addition of the boyfriend? guy kinda ruined it for me.

eala_said's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

I really enjoyed reading this, though it is more of a slice of life so not much actually goes on. I enjoyed the commentary on some of the inner workings of the shop as I see that reflected in my own part time job. Everything (mostly) made sense and I liked that the conclusion was that her love for the convenience store was reaffirmed.

The suggestion of marrying Shiraha though really didn't make sense to me. It felt so disconnected from when two pages earlier she suggested he was essentially a sexual assaulter. I suppose it was something that had to happen for the plot, but idk, felt weird

beatrice_giglio's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

martyrbat's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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lonelyday's review against another edition

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3.0

Creo que, según como se mire, el final puede ser tanto esperanzador como tremendamente pesimista; esperanzador porque la protagonista finalmente se acepta a sí misma, y pesimista porque considerarse dependienta antes que humana me parece descorazonador (aunque, bueno, si a ella lo que le produce felicidad es vivir por y para la tienda... quiénes somos los demás para juzgarlo).
La presión social es mil veces peor en Oriente que en Occidente, pues suelen darle prioridad a la comunidad por encima de la individualidad de la persona; entonces, casi que se podría decir que la protagonista ha roto un poco con los esquemas impuestos. Pero claro, su afán de vivir es servir a los clientes, a la comunidad, así que podríamos decir "transgresora, pero no mucho".
Y, sin ser yo psicóloga ni nada de eso, ¿puede ser que se atisbe en la protagonista algún trastorno de la personalidad? Tomarse todo lo que le dicen al pie de a letra (como se puede comprobar en los sucesos que relataba de su infancia), copiando las emociones de los demás para poder replicarlas cuando sea necesario y "encajar" (ella misma dice que no ha sentido nunca la ira), falta de apego con sus familiares (lo que no quiere decir que no los quiera, pues se nota que su principal razón para encajar en la sociedad es contentar a sus padres y a su hermana), el no comprender por qué debería sentir cariño hacia su sobrino (comparándolo con cualquier otro bebé), etc. Pero ya digo que no tengo conocimientos de psicología, así que puede que esté completamente equivocada.
Esta lectura me ha traído muchos flashbacks de mi época de dependienta y no precisamente agradables, así que ahora toca buscarse una lectura de confort.

alipiolefou's review against another edition

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funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5