Christine Horner, copy editor

I love any book with a great main character, and I love accurate autistic representation even more. I got both of these and more in “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata. It’s a novel about the fictional character Keiko Furukura who has worked at a Japanese convenience store for 18 years. She loves everything about her job: sorting products, greeting customers, keeping track of sales… the list goes on. Her job gives her a strong sense of purpose — but her friends and family don’t approve of her hesitancy to marry and have children because it’s the social norm. She must navigate being a social outcast while still maintaining her duties at the store. 

I bought “Convenience Store Woman” when I asked a bookstore employee for recommendations on books with autistic characters. She suggested this novel to me and, although autism isn’t explicitly mentioned in this book, I saw much of myself in Keiko. Keiko struggles with social cues, body language and her logic and reasoning skills are much different from those around her. Flashbacks of childhood Keiko depict her being reprimanded for uncommon behaviors. For example, when she and her classmates find a dead bird on the playground, everyone except for her wants to bury it and host a funeral. But she wants to take it home and cook it for dinner for her family. She is confused about why her classmates are grieving rather than being practical, and her classmates likely see her as heartless — which is far from the case; she is considering her family after all. As Keiko grows up, she learns how to mimic the mannerisms of those around her to appear normal. Although I have never been to Japan or worked in a convenience store, I feel a strong bond with Keiko because of the similar struggles we have with fitting in and the joys we share in routines.

The narrative style of this book is straightforward and direct with not a lot of elaborate language. I enjoyed this writing style because I wasn’t distracted by complex prose or long-winded paragraphs. In my opinion, it’s written in a way that’s easy to understand. 

I didn’t relate to every single one of Keiko’s experiences, but that just made the book more interesting. I don’t think I would ever enjoy working in a retail setting as much as her, but it was still delightful to read about her love for the minute details at her job. I was also astounded by how unfazed Keiko is by insults. In the book, people around her often criticize her for not being “normal.” Instead of becoming defensive and feeling hurt, she seems to take their comments as mere passive judgment and seeks out a partner to get them off her back. 

I will admit that I felt conflicted at first by the fact that autism was never named in the book. But that’s likely because Keiko never receives a medical diagnosis or even an assessment. When she was a child, her parents sought help from doctors, but the doctors essentially brushed them off and made up some vague excuses for her behavior. Medical gaslighting is real for so many autistic people and our families, so much so that many of us can’t access assessments at all.

I recommend “Convenience Store Woman” if you’re looking for something quick to read that’s still intriguing. I saw much of myself in this book as a late-diagnosed autistic adult. For readers who aren’t on the spectrum, I think you’ll find many of Keiko’s perspectives interesting and perhaps even helpful when seeking to understand us neurodivergent folks.