Ms. Hen reviews Convenience Store Woman

 

Convenience Store Woman

Sayaka Murata

Portobello Books

2016, 2018

Translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takamori

Ms. Hen bought this book at Waterstone's in London. She had it on her library list for a while, and she wandered into that bookstore, because they're all over London, and there used to be one in Boston. She bought the book because she likes to buy books when she's on vacation.

This novel is about a woman who works in a convenience store in Japan, and the store is her whole life. The book does not explain that she is autistic, but Ms. Hen suspected that. She read reviews about the book after she read it, and Ms. Hen's idea was confirmed.

In CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN, Furukura has worked at her job since she was in college, and she does not want to get another one. Her parents don't understand that, and her friends don't understand why she doesn't get married. Her sister helps her learn what to say to people in order to not have them think she is strange.

A man starts to work at the store who nobody likes, and he gets fired. He explains to Furukura that he worked at the store to look for a wife. He convinces her to let him live with her, and she agrees. She wants her friends to think she's getting married, and he wants to get his sister-in-law off his back. He doesn't leave her apartment for a while, and Furukura gets upset with him.

This novel reminds Ms. Hen of other books she has read including SHOPGIRL by Steve Martin, and ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE by Gail Honeyman. There is a sub-genre in fiction that encompasses sad women, and this is one of those books. It also reminds Ms. Hen of a Netflix series called EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WOO, about an autistic lawyer in Korea. Ms. Hen started to watch that show, but she stopped, because it was too real.

Ms. Hen loved this book, but it was too short! She wished she could spend more time with the character. She learned in doing research after she read the book, that the author worked in a convenience store, but it's not about her. She worked there while she was a published writer, but she had to stop when she became too successful because a fan was stalking her at the store where she worked. Ms. Hen would love to have problems like that. She is a strange hen, if you didn't already know.

"If a book is well written, I always find it too short." Jane Austen