Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

BOOK 23 OF 2021

RATING: 4.5/5

Convenience Store Woman follows Keiko, a 36 year old woman who's worked at a convenience store for about 18 years. She's single, lives alone, has lived the same routine for about 18 years and is perfectly fine and happy with that; with the exception of her family, friends, and anyone else who meets her. Why has she never had a boyfriend? Why does she not strive for something more than her convenience store job? She can't actually feel like she's living a fulfilling life, can she?

There's something in this book that everyone can relate to: feeling judged by family, friends and peers, if you're not living, or striving towards, that cookie cutter life. Murata's book, albeit short, packs a punch in tackling class, gender, and society’s expectations of the single woman.