The Book I Read

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.  

Plot Summary:  Keiko Furukura enjoys working in a convenience store, but people pressure her to blend in with others, so she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life. 

After reading this "gem of a book," (Ruth Ozeki), I spent my time googling reviews and information about the author. Sayaka Murata has written 9 or 10 books.  Maybe more.  I can't remember. She used to work in a convenience store, so she knows her stuff.  

Don't want to be a downer, but when I read about how she commits to getting her writing done, I start to question if I can really consider myself any kind of writer.  I barely write one blog entry a week. Reading about the ways she takes charge of her writing goals creates a rising sense of hopelessness and self doubt. Still, while I feel judged by Sayaka Murata, I also greatly admire her.

In my research on the themes of the book, I learned about Japan's "aversion to sex" which some have coined "celibacy syndrome." There are four or five reasons for this asexual trend in Japan, but I won't go into them right now.  

I'm also curious about the book's exploration of what it means to pull off "being a 'person,'"  how being human involves absorbing the behaviors and mannerisms of those around us.  From page 26: "Infecting each other ...is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think."

True or untrue?  We may never know.  We will discuss this question at our upcoming book club meeting, which will be at my house. I'll be ordering sushi. The long and the short of it is this.  Convenience Store Woman is "weird and funny" (Rooney).  You should read it if you feel like it.