Convenience Store Woman: A Novel

Convenience Store Woman is the English-language debut of Sayaka Murata, a Japanese writer whose work has sold over 650,000 copies in Japan. The novel follows Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident who has worked at the Hiiromachi branch of "Smile Mart" for eighteen years. Keiko has never fit in with her family or at school, but found peace and purpose working at the convenience store. There, she learns the rules of social interaction through the store's manual and carefully copies the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues to appear "normal." The boundary between her identity and the store becomes increasingly blurred. While Keiko is content with her life, her family and coworkers pressure her to marry and pursue a conventional career, leading her to take drastic action. The novel examines an unusual psyche and offers a portrait of contemporary work culture and social conformity pressures in Japan. The book was shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award, longlisted for the Believer Book Award and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, and appeared on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list.