Convenience Store Woman
Sayaka Murata
The reviewer quoted on the cover who called this ‘hilarious’ has a strange sense of humour, those who said ‘wierd’ and ‘quirky’ were more on the money, even more so those who said ‘intoxicating’ and ‘exhilarating’.
We learn a lot about the workings of the ubiquitous Japanese convenience store; and about the life of middle aged, single Japanese women. On the surface both of those things can seem pretty bleak but in a way I found this novel actually uplifting. Our hero has found her role in life, she is good at it, enjoys it and serves a need. In some ways it is possible to envy those who have found, and are happy in their niche and don’t ask for much more than that.
Well worth reading, I enjoyed it a lot; and it started me mining a new seam of asian literature that is proving especially rich and fulfilling!