Akutagawa Prize winning novel “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata
2017.04.18
I am curious how she lives her life. Because she has been working part-time at a same convenience store for 18 years after graduating from university.
There is no clerk left who got training with her initially. The store manager is the eighth.
I’m sure the main character Keiko comes to the convenience store today and
eats breakfast that she bought at the store in its backroom and after a morning meeting,
she greets their customers with high energy.
“Good morning!”
She says that she likes this moment. Because she feels like a time of “morning” is bringing into herself. The author herself is the model for Keiko. Even after winning the Akutagawa Prize, she works at the convenience store.
― While working at a convenience store, I am often looked down. But I rather liked watching their faces whose looked down on me. Because I had a feeling that they were truly humans.
As I read the part, I was shocked. She likes watching such people’s faces?
What kind of person is she? Also, she says that she has very little feeling of anger.
In the story as well, she doesn’t criticize others.
On the other hand, she doesn’t flatter anyone.
― A new convenience store that is supposed to open soon looks like a transparent
aquarium on the first floor of an office building. ―
There are many impressive expressions and I like the best this figurative one that
I can see the scene instantly.
Keiko may not be a normal person, indeed. But is normal such a great thing? I think
that it’s about time people should be released from normal. When Keiko thinks that
she exists for the convenience store, she thinks that she is a significant creature.
So, anyway, I feel happy there is a place for her called convenience store.
According to my friend who used to teach Japanese to foreigners, an American student
said, “Japanese convenience store are like the land of dreams. They sell everything,
you can draw money and send a package by courier service. And, you can buy tickets
for the real land of dreams Tokyo Disneyland! But in America, convenient stores are usually next to gas stations, dirty, dim and very dangerous.”
I wish Japanese convenience stores and the people work there a happy future! (H.S)
