![]() But the irresistible hook of Murata Sayaka’s novel is this: Furukura does not find this existence the least bit dissatisfying. Even her diet is mostly food from the store. In fashion sense and conversational style, she surreptitiously mimics her co-workers. The employee manual, with rules for everything from customer service to proper sleep patterns, has become her world. She has virtually no life outside of her job. ![]() A Normal Cog in SocietyĪs the novel begins, our narrator Furukura Keiko has worked at the same convenience store for 18 years. The English edition arrives courtesy of Ginny Tapley Takemori, a seasoned literary translator based in rural Japan. Murata Sayaka’s Convenience Store Woman, which won the Akutagawa Prize in 2016, portrays an unconventional employee’s perspective on life under these new standard-bearers of consumption. ![]() ![]() They have even colonized the literary world. They are part of the social infrastructure and high-visibility sites for everything from language evolution to the increased prominence of foreign labor. Convenience stores have embedded themselves in the fabric of everyday life in Japan. ![]()
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