Convenience Store Woman is a brilliant, weird (in a good kind of way) and defiant little book that hit way closer to home than I expected. Sayaka Murata crafts a hilarious and deeply poignant story about Keiko Furukura, a woman who just wants to live life on her own terms (even if society insists she’s broken for it).
Keiko finds comfort in the routine of her convenience store job, and honestly, I felt that. The story challenges the idea that happiness must come from relationships, babies or ‘normal’ life goals. It instead offers a quiet celebration of choosing your own path, even if it confuses everyone else. It’s sharp, funny and feels ‘important’. And with ‘important’ I mean: Keiko’s story is more than a quirky character study; it’s a critique of how hard society works to force us into roles we never asked for.
