Convenience Store Woman: A Novel

Convenience Store Woman: A Novel

<b>Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award</b><br><b>Longlisted for the <i>Believer</i> Book Award</b><br><b>A <i>Los Angeles Times</i> Bestseller<br> Named a Best Book of the Year by the <i>New Yorker</i>, <i>BuzzFeed</i>, <i>Boston Globe</i>, <i>Literary Hub</i>, <i>Minneapolis Star Tribune</i>, <i>Electric Literature</i>, <i>Library Journal</i>, <i>Shelf Awareness</i>, WBUR, Hudson, <i>Bustle</i>, <i>Chatelaine</i>, and <i>Globe and Mail</i><br> An Indies Introduce Title <br>An Indie Next Pick <br> An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Literature and Fiction)</b><br> <b>An <i>Elle</i> Magazine Best Summer Book Pick</b><br> <b>One of <i>Vogue</i>’s Books to Thrill, Entertain, and Sustain You This Summer</b><p><p>Winner of Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize, <i>Convenience Store Woman</i> is the incomparable story of Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident who has been working at the Hiiromachi “Smile Mart” for the past eighteen years. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but in her convenience store, she is able to find peace and purpose with rules clearly delineated clearly by the store’s manual, and copying her colleagues’ dress, mannerisms, and speech. She plays the part of a “normal person” excellently―more or less. Keiko is very happy, but those close to her pressure her to find a husband and a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action. <p><p> A sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures we all feel to conform, <i>Convenience Store Woman</i> offers a brilliant depiction of a world hidden from view and a charming and fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.