Convenience Store Woman

By Sayaka Murata
  • Character-driven
  • Fiction

Keiko works part time in a convenience store, much to the consternation of friends and family who believe her university education and child-bearing years to have gone to waste. According to a former manager, her salary is designed to provide her the basic requirements needed to function as an effective employee. For Keiko, the clear structure of the job provides great comfort; interpersonal relationships are clearly defined, clothing is uniform, her role is clear-cut. Convenience Store Woman is the story of a person who is atypical, finding their place in a society than prizes convention above all else. This compact novella leaves us pondering concepts of happiness, convention, capitalism, and what it means to exist in the world right now.

Staff Pick By
Vita