Convenience Store Woman Book Review

Convenience Store Woman Book Review 3.5/5 ‘Unless I’m cured, normal people will expurgate me.’ At first i found it quite relatable when the book was about her childhood and how she doesn't understand social norms, and didn't have friends or fit in as a result. And the book will be about not having to fall into pressure of society expectaction and be free of what you really want. Which is still what the book is about, but it took a more depressing turn rather than a lighter hopeful one i expected. I'd rate it 3.5 for the fun factor, but maybe it deserve 4 star for the thoughts it provoke regarding social expectaction and how the society treats people who doesn't follow it. The main character seems to be autistic social misfit in her childhood but her characterisation shift towards a more sociapathic character as we progress the book. She was never able to understand common sense and social norms, but at one point, somehow she could understand the rules of being a convenience store worker without being seen as too weird. She found comfort in this and this worked well until her twenties. But as she approach in her thirties, people start to find her more 'abnormal' as she is still 'not married' yet and doesn't have a proper job. Determined to fix this issue to continue masking herself as normal, she encountered another hateful male character who she feel relatable as fellow social outcast and offer to marry him out of convenience. The male character itself is quite interesting, it represents another representation of not following the society expectation, but while the main character is 'self-sufficient', the male character approach it in selfist and more entitled way. There are themes of misogyny as well, as some of the society expectation can be misogynistic especially when it's taken to the extreme like in certain parts of Japan. The interaction between the two and how they both view life and respond to society expectation thought provoking part of the book. In the end, she realizes even her time as a convenience store worker all this time, she was always an outcast, but she already found comfort in fitting in as just a convenience store worker as pure utility, rather than try to fit in as be seen as fellow 'human'. She realize this in the end, and decided to just disappear from society as a social being and stop trying to fit it and just stay as a 'convenience store worker'. Some interesting thoughts the book explore along with some of my favorites quote. Favorite quotes: '‘Unless I’m cured, normal people will expurgate me.’ - How society treats the outsider, and why the social expectation can feel oppressive 'When you work in a convenience store, people often look down on you for working there. I find this fascinating, and I like to look them in the face when they do this to me. And as I do so I always think: that’s what a human is.’ - How people look down on certain type of job and why this is wrong ‘So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing.’ - How some people may find it harder in reading the unspoken rules 'When you do physical labor, you end up being no longer useful when your physical condition deteriorates. However hard I work, however dependable I am, when my body grows old then no doubt I too will be a worn-out part, ready to be replaced, no longer of any use to the convenience store.' - The ableism in our industry