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Convenience Store Woman

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Convenience Store Woman

By: Sayaka Murata
Narrated by: Nancy Wu
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About this listen

Meet Keiko. Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years. Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married. But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store.

©2020 Sayaka Murata (P)2019 Sayaka Murata Fiction Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

Witty, wily, and astonishingly sharp.

-- Lisa McInerney, author of "The Glorious Heresies"

An exhilaratingly weird and funny Japanese novel. Unsettling and totally unpredictable.

-- Sally Rooney

A haunting, dark, and often hilarious take on society's expectations of the single woman.

-- Elif Batuman, author of "The Idiot"

[A] short, deadpan gem... This is a true original.

-- Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail

A sure-fire hit of the summer... quirky [and] profound.

-- Irish Times

All stars
Most relevant  
I enjoyed the story and the narrator was really good as well.

This book was funny and entertaining and well worth listening to.

Loved it!

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I listened to this book while running errands. The authors casual prose kept me listening and engaged even subconsciously.
I feel changed after this book. Not majorly, but its there.
Read it

I know, now

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I want Famichiki. I miss it ever so. Am want Tamago Sando to kudasai. Arigato gozaimasu.

Famichiki

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Loved it! An insight into an alternative view of the world. Not one I'd like to live, but I can see the appeal and entirely plausible.

An insight

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Well read so much delightful detail in a short story great characters and themes definitely recommend

Delightful

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I found this intensely interesting and strangely comforting. The story explores Kaiko's strong sense of identity in her role as a convenience worker, and her unique way of navigating her sense of removal from society outside of that role. Her almost religious practice of her work and the comfort she gets from its certainty, and her general feeling of 'alienness', are (perhaps ironically) some of the most relatable parts of her.

Listening to this work made me feel that any reaction I have to it would be ok. To me, the it's an exploration of the complexities of normative society through a blatantly honest lens. Somehow, rather than being a slap in the face to all of us who participate in norms, it felt like a fog clearing away.

This work made me think deeply when I reacted to events in very different ways than Kaiko, and brought an awareness of the little ways my opinions are influenced by social expectation. I enjoy her calm manner of contemplating events without assigning positive or negative value. While empathy might not be the first word people would associate with her, I think her worldview made it easier for me to be empathetic.

There's many things about Kaiko herself that I can't help but love; her resolute dedication to her chosen life's meaning (the convenience store); the way she processes information literally, without applying context or making assumptions; her theory about people picking up habits and patterns of communication from the people they spend the most time with... Perhaps Kaiko would be surprised to find I like these things about her, or perhaps she wouldn't consider being liked by others as valuable for her, beyond its practical implications. Either way, experiencing her story was a pleasure and I'm so glad I encountered this work.

Reminds me of a less depressing, modern L'Étranger

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Great voice work. With a well realised world of a proficient woman meeting an existential world with her Absurdist affirmation of life.

The feminine Notes from the Underground

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Well suited narration by Nancy Wu.
Murata's novella is a crisp and delightful depiction of neuro-divergence in an unforgiving world. This is fun, while also providing much to contemple. It's deeper than it might seem at first blush. Clever, well worth the time. I'm glad I didn't pass on this one, purely because it's a short read. The memory will linger.

Delightful and Deep

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I enjoyed this thoughtful book of unique perspective. The story was well read and easy to listen to. I would recommend Convenience Store Woman.

Unique

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Great short book that looks into a side of society that people don’t delve into.

Great strong, makes you think

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