Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata

This was a lovely lighthearted & short read about a Japanese woman who has worked in the same convenience store for 18 years. She loves her job and it is the only place where she truly feels like she belongs. She’s 35, lives alone and has never had a boyfriend, and she’s happy. But her family, friends and coworkers are not, and continue to try and ‘fix’ her. The book is all about societal pressure to be in a relationship, have children, a ‘proper’ job, by a certain point in your life. It is an uplifting and inspiring read and I really enjoyed it.

I absolutely love the descriptions of the store, it’s so detailed and rich and cosy, and the author herself really did work in convenience stores for 18 years!

How accessible is it?

It’s quite a short book (163 pages) and I found the writing style really clear and nice to read. There are no chapters, but the paragraphs are short.