Convenience Store Woman

By: Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori - translator

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

Tokyo resident Keiko Furukara has never fit in - neither in her family, nor in school - but when at the age of 18 she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of national convenience store chain Smile Mart, she realizes instantly that she has found her purpose in life. Delighted to be able to exist in a place where the rules of social interaction are crystal clear (many are laid out line-by-line in the store's manual), Keiko does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and mode of speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a "normal" person excellently, more or less.

Keiko is the perfect employee - never late, always worrying about how to maximize sales, brilliantly conscientious, and highly energetic. Managers come and go but Keiko remains at the store for 18 years. It's almost hard to tell where the store ends and she begins. At 36, Keiko is very happy in her life, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, pressure her to settle down with a man and to find a proper profession. Eventually, she is pushed to make a huge change. The static world of Keiko is upended - but will it be for the better?

A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and an extraordinary world, Convenience Store Woman is both an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.

©2018 Sayaka Murata and Ginny Tapley Takemori (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A refreshing and unusual short story

A refreshing and unusual short story about a woman and the suppressing Japanese society where excessive rules and societal norms rule the ways of life. The author depicts this by showing how everyone likes to muddle in other people's business, minding what age they are and their marital status and finding them a spouse, whether they want to or not. Dialogues in the story also hint at the gender imbalance in the present-day Japanese society. Many of these aspects apply to other Asian cultures as well, but especially strong in the still very traditional culture of Japan. It shows how excessive societal norms and expectations are unreasonable and unnecessary and even hinders a happy life.

Narrator's pronunciation of Japanese is great. However, she uses an attitude in the dialogues that is not always needed. Some are better without the extra attitude.

Quirky

Performer: excellent. Story line: unusual, imaginative. I found it sonewhat disturbing. Main character: quirky, eccentric, emotionally stunted.

Wow!

Such a simple short story with a big impact. I wanted the story to be longer and hear more of what happens to our convenience store women.

There are so many lessons here but ultimately, just accept and be happy with what makes you happy, not what society says should.

Narration was absolutely perfect. I will seek out more by this author and narrorator! Highly recommend this quick listen.

Interesting view of Japanese culture from the eyes of an odd protagonist

This story caught me by surprise. “A story about a woman who works in a convenience store?” I’m normally a sci-fi and non-fiction guy, so this wouldn’t be my usual. But I had a 3.5hr drive in front of me and this is a 3.5hr story, so why not give it a shot?

This is the story of a woman who finds who she is and who she can be by spending her life working in a convenience store. From her vantage point we see the people that enter the store, the people in her life who make judgments, and the how the culture in general sees her and people who don’t quite fit into the mold.

I was captivated the entire time, though it probably helps if you have some passing familiarity with certain Japanese cultural norms, like why her last name is regularly used by most people while her sister uses her first name. (Leaving the honorifics in might have helped some with this, but that might have required an explanation of honorifics, arguably an important element, though I’m not sure how important it would have been to THIS story.)

The story was enjoyable and it’s one I will likely listen to a few more times. I’d like to find mire stories like this, little slices of life that explore both society and the observant elements therein.

It’s not for everyone but kinda weirdly fun

If your up for something not too deep but a little odd then this is for you.

Wonderful novella - insightful

I liked it - the plot is light but author builds in depth as the story progresses. I thought the narrator did an excellent job. Some universal themes about self fulfillment, family, marriage and work. Who's to say want a person needs to be contented in life?

Excellent narrator

Nancy Wu is fantastic. The story is excellent as well!! Fascinating story!! Listen to this book!!

Validation for Retail People Everywhere!

I love this book so much! I relate to all the topics in this book. Tremendous commentary on Japanese society. Insight into friends and family’s inability to validate me as a department store cosmetics worker, the only places I felt happy working.

I was not particularly impressed

I am sure there was a greater message somewhere in there, but I was as not sensitive to it. Perhaps it was the fact that I am not very familiar with the culture.

A little more at the end needed

I would have liked to sing the main character become something where she utilized her talents as a convenience store worker to build like an Empire for herself where she helped other grocery stores to become the best that they could be because of her knowledge and skills from working in a grocery store for so long. Other than that this story was very entertaining and I had never listened to anything like it.