Welcome to our first week of reading Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
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While this is called Cool Bloggers Book Club, you don't have to be a blogger or cool to participate, although anyone who does participate is automatically cool. I'm happy you are here and making this journey with all of us. As always, the ground rules for CBBC are:
1) Don't apologize. Don't apologize for having a lot or a little to say in the comments. Don't apologize because you're not an expert on something. Don't apologize because you don't have a doctorate in English literature. Don't apologize if you fall behind or can't keep up. Have fun and say what you have to say. You and your thoughts are important.
2) Feel free to come back and respond to comments more than once! I love it when there's a dialogue in the comments.
3) Have fun reading, thinking about the book, and discussing it! Don't feel limited to my discussion prompts - talk about whatever you feel like talking about.
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Who is Sayaka Murata?
Murata is a Japanese writer best known for the international bestseller Convenience Store Woman (2016) which has been translated into more than thirty languages worldwide. Murata has won many major literary prizes in Japan, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 2003, the Noma Literary New Face Prize in 2009, the Mishima Yukio Prize in 2013, and the Akutagawa Prize for Convenience Store Woman in 2016. In addition to Convenience Store Woman, the novels Earthlings and Vanishing World, the short-story collection Life Ceremony, the short stories "Faith," "Survival," and "A Clean Marriage," as well as the New York Times published opinion piece "The Future of Sex Lives in All of Us" have all been published in English.
Murata was born in Japan in 1979. Her father was a judge and her mother was a housewife. Murata has said she did not have a happy childhood - "I was starved of love, and that my brain was numbed and anaesthetised. But I was able to play the role of a normal girl." She started writing stories at age 10. As a child, she often read science fiction and mystery novels borrowed from her brother and mother.
Murata worked part-time as a convenience store clerk in Tokyo for eighteen years until 2017. She has lived in Shinjuku, Tokyo since she was a student.
Murata's writing explores the different consequences of nonconformity in society for men and women, particularly with regard to gender roles, parenthood, and sex. Many of the themes and character backstories in her writing come from her daily observations as a part-time convenience store worker.
Murata often places challenging taboos at the forefront of her most popular works. Earthlings focuses on an 11-year-old girl named Natsuki, with her boyfriend and cousin, Yuu, who believe themselves to be aliens due to their tumultuous relationship with their family. The story quickly develops into a harsh tale containing themes of "sexual abuse, murder, and cannibalism." Murata believes that the more she writes about the questioning of these taboos, the closer she will come to the "real truth of things."
If you're want to read more about Murata, this Guardian article is full of revealing statements about her. Consider these two quotes:
Murata herself considers marriage to be “a kind of hostage situation” and motherhood “a curse” that would put an end to her life as a writer. Much of her writing involves imaginative attempts to resolve the biological fatalism of being female with humanity’s need to procreate. Her outlandish near-future fictional worlds are all rooted in the reality of Japan’s declining birth and marriage rates, an increase in young people choosing celibacy, not to mention deeply entrenched misogyny.
For many, Murata has become a left-field feminist icon. “Feminism is desperately needed in Japanese society today,” she says, describing “a hell soup” in which fathers have been given lenient sentences for raping their daughters and feminists receive death threats. “Some say that the worlds I write about are dystopian, but a lot of people think that actually reality is worse.”
AND
“I’ve been told by my doctor not to talk about this too much, but ever since I was a child, I’ve had 30 or 40 imaginary friends who live on a different star or planet with whom I have shared love and sexual experiences.”
I feel like I'd want to go see Muraka do a talk and a reading, but I wouldn't want to have dinner with her afterwards.
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What happened in these pages?
We meet Keiko Furukura here. She's never really felt like she fit in, like when she was a child and people wanted to bury a dead bird instead of her suggestion of eating it or how horrified people were when she brained a kid with a spade to stop a fight instead of going to get an adult to help. Her parents were good parents, but they didn't really know how to help Keiko. Eventually she developed her own coping strategies for dealing with a world she didn't understand.
...I decided to keep my mouth shut as best I could outside home. I would no longer do anything of my own accord, and would either just mimic what everyone else was doing, or simply follow instructions. (page 10)
"We've got quite similar tastes, haven't we? I like your bag too," Mrs. Izumi said with a smile.
It's only natural that my tastes would match hers since I'm copying her. (page 27)
I'd noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy. If I went along with the manager when he was annoyed or joined in the general irritation at someone else skiving off the night shift, there was a strange sense of solidarity as everyone else seemed pleased that I was angry too.
Now, too, I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara's faces: Good I pulled off being a "person." (page 29)
Cut to eighteen-year-old Keiko who starts working at a brand new convenience store, Smile Mart. She is SO GOOD at this job. She greets customers, she does market analysis while walking around the neighborhood (construction means more people are going to come to the store, higher temperatures mean they'll sell less soup, etc.), she shows up, she follows instructions, she uses sound cues to figure out what's happening in the store even if she can't see it, and she uses customers' body language to figure out what they need or what they're going to do. This is Keiko's jam.
The store is short-staffed and hires an awkward, misogynistic, and lazy young man named Shiraha who is quickly fired for shirking work and stalking a customer.
Despite Keiko's satisfaction with her job, she's been at this store for eighteen years now and the social conformity to get married and/or have a full-time job is real. Since she's never been in a romantic relationship, her friends sometimes think she's gay or asexual. Her sister tries to coach her into responses for what to say when people are shocked that she's still at the convenience store, relying on an excuse that she's somehow too ill or frail to hold a "proper" job, but at a barbecue at her friend Miho's house when Keiko's seeing people she hasn't seen in quite some time, it all boils over.
"You can't go on like this, and deep down you must be getting desperate, no? Once you get past a certain age it'll be too late."
"I can't go on like this? You mean I shouldn't be living the way I am now? Why do you say that?" (page 79)
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Things I looked up:
Irasshaimase (page 2 and many more) - a formal Japanese greeting that means "Welcome" or "Please come in"
Suica (page 3) - a prepaid, contactless IC (integrated circuit) smart card for public transportation, vending machines, and shopping in Japan
casual worker (page 5) - an employee hired on an as-needed basis without a long-term contract or a guaranteed, fixed schedule
freeter (page 35) - a Japanese term for young individuals—typically aged 15 to 34—who lack full-time employment, work low-paid part-time or temporary jobs, and are not students or housewives
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Lines of note:
Also on the day shift are Iwaki, a tall and lanky university student, and job-hopper Yukishita, who's now found a proper job and will be leaving soon. (page 25)
As much as Keiko likes and as good at her job, she still doesn't consider it a "proper job." The internalized idea that her job is somehow improper is buried deep.
...I wondered how all his internal organs could fit into such a skinny body. (page 63)
My friend WKR always said this about my husband. She's a very tall lady, well over six feet, and she'd laugh and wonder how they had all the same organs!
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Questions to ponder:
1) Quote #1: I was good at mimicking the trainer's examples and the model video he'd shown us in the back room. It was the first time anyone had ever taught me how to accomplish a normal facial expression and manner of speech. (page 15)
Quote #2: The sensation that the world is slowly dying feels good. (page 39)
Quote #3: The baby started to cry. My sister hurriedly picked him and tried to soothe him. What a lot of hassle I thought. I looked at the small knife we'd used to cut the cake still lying there on the table: if it was just a matter of making him quiet, it would be easy enough. (page 57)
Is Keiko neurodivergent and/or a psychopath? Does she lack empathy, or does she just follow a logic that is different from most people? Do you feel sympathy for Keiko or do you find her unsettling?
2) There are some strange undercurrents at the store - chanting phrases before shifts start and phrases like "we existed only in the service of the convenience store," (page 47) and "I was a faithful disciple to the store" (page 63) - that spring to mind cults or religions. Do you feel like modern organizations (corporations, governments, non-profits) that hire people try to indoctrinate people into a certain belief system? Who does this benefit? Why is Keiko so susceptible to it?
3) Do you think this is last we've seen of Shihara? Seems crazy to spend so much time on a character who we won't see again.
4) What do you think is going to happen to Keiko? Do you think she's going to stay at the store?
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Homework for you:
How are you reading this book? Paperback, ebook, audiobook? Where are you reading it? If you have a photo of your book (maybe you're reading it on the beach!) you'd like to share with the rest of the group, send it in and I'll make a collage for next week. Deadline for sending it in to make next week's post is 10/24 by noon central. dominique 100 at hotmail dot com
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| mbmom11 already did her homework and sent a photo of Iris LOVING the book! |
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Monday, 10/26 - Page 81- end
Monday, 11/2 - Wrap-up
ENGIE!!! This book was my jam!!! Back when you gave us the selections, I had already read and loved I Who Have Never Known Men, and I sampled both this and The Vegetarian and neither one caught my attention so I started out indifferent to this round of CBBC. I only picked up the book because I was intrigued by a few comments other folks left about the book on your recent posts. Normally I'm pretty strict at staying with each week's assigned reading, but since I couldn't tell where the break was/since the book is so short/since I was hooked, I listened to the whole thing over the weekend. I'm planning to read The Vegetarian to complete the trilogy.
ReplyDeleteTo me this book isn't about "what's wrong with Keiko", it's about what's wrong with the world that she lives in. I don't know/care what her diagnosis is, I just love hearing her take on things. I love books where the central character is "off" and and makes her own sense of the world, and I definitely got Sky Daddy vibes.
I'm here for anything that Murata has to write, though like you say, I probably would not want to have dinner with her.
Oh, I'm so glad you like it. I mean, you don't have to like a CBBC book to have a good discussion about it, but it will make you want to come back. I bought The Vegetarian because I thought it was going to win, so I'll be reading that soon, too.
DeleteI think it's important to know what's wrong with Keiko to figure out who this world serves and who it doesn't serve. Is it not good for anyone? Women? Men? People with certain medical issues? I think there's a big question here about whether this book is truly a fictionalized memoir or if it's a satire, but I think that's a question for once the entire book has been read, you know?
I really enjoyed the first part of this book!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think Keiko is neurodivergent, but I love that she's found her place in the world. It's absolutely maddening that the rest of society (including those closest to her) looks down on her essential role. Store workers ARE essential! Why is her job considered less-than simply because it doesn't fit someone else's definition of success???
She seems so, so good at what she does. She takes great pride in knowing how to serve customers well, but I never get the sense that it's a burden. If anything, it's a relief to Keiko to finally have a plan to follow.
I suppose there are two sides to this coin. On the one hand, she's learned to suppress some of her natural instincts to fit in with society. (For example, she can't truly be herself and eat the dead bird, even though, on some level, there's nothing inherently wrong with cooking it up for her father!) But on the other hand, I appreciate how she's found a way to fit into society AND be happy. Isn't that what most of us are trying to do, in one way or another?
*Is Keiko neurodivergent and/or a psychopath? Does she lack empathy, or does she just follow a logic that is different from most people? Do you feel sympathy for Keiko or do you find her unsettling?
I think she's neurodivergent, but so often, just because something doesn't fit with cultural norms, we assume it's wrong.
Now, the whole knife + baby thing is a bit unsettling... BUT I also think there's an element of human nature at work here. Most of us have thoughts or impulses that we don't act on ALL THE TIME. Keiko just seems unusually honest (at least with herself) about how her brain processes things.
Back to the bird. I mean, I can see how that WOULD be confusing from an evolutionary standpoint. The bird is dead. It could now provide food. Why is that automatically an inappropriate response?
In a weird, tangential sort of way, isn't this a bit like organ donation? Or even the ending of The Grapes of Wrath? We attach all sorts of cultural and emotional significance to bodies and bodily functions, but Keiko seems to approach things from a purely practical perspective.
(Have I had too many cups of coffee this morning?? I think so.)
*Do you think this is the last we've seen of Shiraha?** Yes. Sigh. I really don't like Shiraha. I know we're not supposed to, but ugh.
I just want the whole book to focus on Keiko doing what she does so well and ignore any dramatic tension.
I want her to be estranged from the friends and family who don't seem to appreciate or understand her, and I want her to go ALL IN at the store.
Then again... maybe she's brainwashed and robotic and isn't actually enjoying her life?
But I think she is! I genuinely think she's happy. I think the only reason she has any doubts about her life is because other people keep planting those doubts in her mind.
Which raises an interesting question: Is Keiko actually the one who needs to change, or is everyone else simply uncomfortable with the fact that she's content with a life they wouldn't choose for themselves?
*What do you think is going to happen to Keiko? Do you think she's going to stay at the store?
I hope so! I just want Keiko to be allowed to be Keiko. And if that means spending her life happily working at a convenience store, I say MORE POWER TO HER.
I really loved those scenes when we saw how good Keiko is at her job. And I don't know if she's happy, but she does seem happy with her job. Like, she'd be a happy person if other people would stop judging her for what she's doing! I think the question of her happiness is central. The only place she really seems happy is at work.
DeleteThe dead bird thing reminded me of when I was young and truly didn't understand why we regularly eat cows, but not horses. My parents really did have to deal with a lot, didn't they? I mean, it's confusing. Why is eating meat of one animal taboo and not another?
OKAY. I really loved this book (like Birchie, I read the whole thing). Yes, my first thought is that Keiko is on the spectrum. But I don't really feel like the book is about that, exactly. I'm not on the spectrum, but had a lot of trouble feeling like I "fit in" while growing up, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. I remember thinking how easily other people seemed to talk to one another, and how it seemed like they mysteriously knew how to behave "normally." And I would try to copy people so I could be normal too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Birchie, this book is more about what's wrong with the world. Yes, she has some unusual thoughts. But, let's look at the bird incident from her childhood- people eat birds. Why is it okay to eat a dead bird that you bought from the store, but not a dead bird from the park? Why does everyone decide that one thing is okay, but the other thing isn't? Okay, it's a little alarming that she had the thought about the knife and the baby. But we all have strange thoughts sometimes- she wasn't going to act on it. To answer your question- I definitely have a lot of sympathy for Keiko.
i can't answer the last two questions because I already know how this book turns out! I can't wait to hear what everyone else thinks so far.
I think we all copy other people to some extent, but it's pretty extreme in Keiko's case. I think she's really figured out ways to cope, but I wonder if it's at the cost of really figuring out her own likes and interests. I mean, maybe she truly doesn't care about fashion or makeup and THAT'S FINE, but what else is she just ceding to other people?
DeleteI do wonder if the thinking about the baby and the knife thing is like how a lot of people thinking about driving off bridge or swerving into traffic - the call of the void thing. It's not intentional, but it is human nature, as you say.
Keiko is unknowingly shocking and incredibly smart. She doesn't naturally fit in by society's standards and is constantly watching, paying attention in order to do that and manages to pull it off. She's gone from grabbing a spade and whacking a kid over the head to stop an argument (one of the funniest lines in the book to me) to learning to mimic the words and facial expressions of coworkers in order to get along.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was the author's intention to write Keiki as neurodivergent, although I feel she would be classified that by teachers and coworkers. I believe the author is putting a spotlight on the way society has expectations, particularly for women, that they should follow a rigid, well-maintained path. The way the author highlights the constant scrutiny of her friends regarding her personal life - her lack of career, has she or hasn't she been with a man/woman - is it any wonder she doubts herself?
I'm glad Keiki is close to her sister and that she has helped guide her and offer solutions when dealing with difficult interactions. I think we all need an ally in this world and I hope the relationship with her sister continues to be a supportive one for her.
Do you think she's smart? That's interesting. What makes you think that? She seems remarkably uncurious to me. Like, she doesn't really care why other people like things, but she's just copying them. I think that's a great coping strategy, but she doesn't seem to really think about WHY people act or believe things.
DeleteYES! The way her "support system" acts, it's no wonder that she's so unsure of herself. Why isn't her job enough? If I heard over and over again that I was no good without a full-time job/a relationship/a house/a baby, etc., it would definitely get into my head. Just the fact that Japanese has this word "freeter" is interesting, isn't it?
I've been struggling with the idea of Keiko's neurodivergence and if it should be called out or not. Is it important to label why she looks at the world in an unconventional way? Is acknowledging that she is neurodivergent informative and useful to understanding the narrative?
ReplyDeleteIf a post partum mother had the same thought about the knife and the baby, she would be immediately given help and support and therapy and probably medication (well we would hope, but given the recent news, maybe not...) . So maybe it is important to understand what is going on chemically with someone's brain.
2 - My husband sometimes thinks my work is cult-like. I think a company wants it's workers to have a communal mindset because then their workers are more predictable. It's like a machine. But also - as a worker, you want to believe in what you are doing - if you are going to spend so much time at work, you want to feel like you are part of something worthwhile.
I do think that Japanese culture values conformity and the whole over the individual to a very high degree. Life is highly designed for its people and there are boxes people are expected to fit into. I'm sure there is a ton of research as to wherefores and what nots of that super organized mindset.
This might also explain why they excel at producing stationary and planners....
I'm not going to answer 3 or 4 because I've read ahead - the lack of chapters is not conducive to reading a bit at a time!
I definitely think it's important to know what is going on because if it's something that is fairly common (like neurodivergence) and society doesn't work in some way for people in that group, how can we, as a caring society, make thing better?
DeleteI definitely think of my work as cult-like. There are mascots and colors and the guy in charge likes us to say chants. Honestly, sometimes it creeps me out. I do believe in what I'm doing, but I don't necessarily believe in what the guy in charge believes we're doing.
Next time I'm going to be sure a book has chapters before I suggest it. It never even occurred to me that it wouldn't have chapters and I'm sure I never even thought about it when I was reading it before.
ReplyDeleteI do find Keiko unsettling but also feel sympathy. At one point (maybe the knife/baby thought)it did cross my mind that she is a psychopath. But I don’t really think so, maybe neurodivergent. I have sympathy because I know the feeling of wishing to fit in. When I started school in the US my parents were British and I had never been around kids my age. I was so different and, like Keiko, I observed everything like clothes, food, speech of the other kids very closely to learn to fit in.
I have a feeling Shihara will return but I hope not. And I really hope Keiko can find better friends. The barbecue had me so pissed off at the friends’ husbands especially but the wives were not nice to her either. And Keiko just takes away from that that she needs to “be fixed” rather than realizing that they were just being assholes.
4) What do you think is going to happen to Keiko? Do you think she's going to stay at the store?
We all need better friends than Keiko. Sheesh. She's happy doing it and isn't worried about what it means for her future - let her do it! Egads. Poor Keiko. I have a lot of sympathy for her, but I also find her frustrating because it doesn't seem like she's trying to figure out why other people want all these things for her. She's just frustrated with them (which - fair enough).
DeleteOh that comment is mine ^ - Dulcie -
ReplyDeleteYay for a kitty and the book! I still haven't gotten my copy from Libby, so I guess I'm out of this session. But I will definitely check back in with all the posts when I finally get to listen to it!
ReplyDeleteIt's quick. Hopefully you can get it soon and catch up.
DeleteTo be honest, I did not enjoy this book to start and almost DNF. However, I tried again and started to really feel for Keiko.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't someone just explain to her that some birds are for eating and random dead things are not appropriate food? Just explain hitting people isn't a proper way of stopping a fight? ( although highly effective). No one bothers to explain things to her. Pulling down pants is a comedic tool used in movies, not for real life ( unless you're in a junior high boys locker room).
She navigates this by watching and staying quiet. Definitely a smart person - she figures out how to mask her different sort of mind.
Why can't anybody value her and not try to fix her? That's why the convenience store job is perfect- rules are explained, there is a sense of order and patterns.
I think the nephew /knife thing was just her brain going through logical alternatives. If she can listen to Shahira blather on about stone age and think about if there's any truth in his BS, she likes to think through things.
I have a kid who is a bit on the outside of life, so this story hit hard. Why can't people be straightforward and clear instead of making assumptions.
And if Japan really is so socially obsessed with marriage, good jobs, fitting in, I would not find it a comfortable place. Honestly, I wanted to yell at all these shallow friends.
I read the whole book ( this book is like a dark chocolate truffle- small, rich, bitter, and satisfying - couldn't read just part of it once I got into it.
I mean, her parents do try to explain it to her, but it's confusing. Why is it okay to eat some birds (chicken, turkey, etc.) and not this one? I think that her parents are trying to explain things, but Keiko just doesn't understand certain norms. And, to be honest, there is no real explanation, right?
DeleteI think people try to "fix" her because they wouldn't be happy in her shoes. I would HATE working at a convenience store - the menial tasks, the repetitiveness, dealing with the public - and I would have a hard time understanding that truly likes it. If I never saw her at work and saw how good she was at it, I can understand why they think it's weird. I think we should have some empathy for people in Keiko's lives, too.
I mean, Japan is very image conscious. It's why they have great beauty products, but it's also why they have high levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. There's also a lot of loneliness as people try to and cannot meet the perfect societal image or meet rigid professional and personal standards. It's the reality of Japanese life. And is it that different here?
Yes- my daughter also needs people to be straightforward and clear. Once you see things through her eyes, it's astonishing how UNCLEAR most people are. I'm glad you gave this book a second chance! It seems like most people are really liking it.
DeleteI tell you what, though, if you ARE straightforward and clear, people will constantly tell you that you are rude. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.
DeleteI had a bit of trouble getting into this book, but once I got in I’m all in. There are small phrases that are so striking. I feel for Keiko, trying her best to fit in. She doesn’t understand people, but she wants them to be satisfied with her. She is good at her job and takes a lot of satisfaction in it.
ReplyDeleteHer intrusive thoughts are interesting. The knife and the baby thought might come to any of us, and none of us (I hope) would act on it, but if I had that thought I would be a little horrified, and I don’t think she is at all. She knows not to say it, but I didn’t get the feeling she horrified herself.
Side tangent, you know the theory that any decision/thought we have triggers a new universe? So if I think about stabbing a crying baby, even briefly, in one universe I do so? I hate that theory. I hate to think that there are universes out there triggered by these disturbing passing thoughts. I hate to think that there are worlds where one could be a perfectly lovely person, and others where one could be a monster, and the only difference is whether we had that passing thought.
Her friends suck. I’m glad she has her sister, and that her parents are loving and want to help her, though that seems to mean ‘fixing’ her. Does she need fixing? I don’t really think so, at least not yet.
As I said to mbmom11 above, I think I have empathy for Keiko's friends, too. She's odd, right? And I would have a hard time being happy in her place - that job sounds super miserable to me. So no matter how she tried to convince me that she's good at her job, I don't know if I would necessarily believe her?
DeleteDoes she need fixing? I don't know. Is she happy? If she's happy, maybe that's good. Is she happy? I don't know. It's hard to tell, isn't it?
I am neither cool (just ask my kids) nor a blogger, but I did read Convenience Store Woman (in ebook form). I found it really compelling, if a little uncomfortable, and read it quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think Keiko is neurodivergent, and she definitely lacks empathy for others, but even more seems out of touch with her own emotions, like she's living in a nearly constant state of dissociation. I'm not sure whether she's actually not feeling things, or just not able to access her feelings. She doesn't feel angry, but notes that others are happier if she seems to feel angry when they do.
As for the cultlike rules of the store, having that structure seems like a perfect fit for Keiko. She doesn't know how to act, so having a known "correct" response allows her to relax. I think that's part of the appeal of cults in general, that the responsibility is lifted from each member and placed in the leadership. It makes sense that Keiko sees it as a relief.
At the base of it, she does seem to feel alienated, and wants to fit in, but I can't decide if she's actually a misfit, or actually the perfect cog in a society that wants people to fit into roles. The conflict of the book isn't that she doesn't have a role to fill, or that she doesn't fill the role well; she's the perfect Convenience Store Worker. The conflict is that the people around her want her to fill a different role.
I don't know that I like Keiko particularly, but I have a lot of sympathy for her.
Gwen
You ARE cool, Gwen. What do kids know?
DeleteI agree with you re: Keiko's emotions. Like I said to J above, it's hard to know if Keiko is happy or not because she's not very reflective about her feelings.
I think that's a super important point about how with the rigid rules, it means Keiko doesn't have to think about a lot of things - even her micro expressions are scripted. I bet Keiko would easily be convinced to join a cult.
I started the audiobook this morning and finished it in the afternoon! I just didn't want to stop listening, and since it was a quick audiobook, it was easy to just let it keep going. I loved it, and especially have this fondness for Keiko. While I'm not neurodivergent in the same way Keiko is, I definitely understand this feeling of not fitting in or doing things the "right" way. I could relate to her in some respects, and definitely not at all in others. But she became very dear to me!
ReplyDelete1) Keiko is such an interesting character! I definitely think she is neurodivergent and there is a certain lack of empathy, or maybe it's a real lack of interiority? Like, is she one of those people who doesn't have inner thoughts? I don't know, but what is interesting to think about is how her neurodivergence played out in Japanese culture vs how it would have been handled in American culture. I don't know much about Japanese culture to be helpful there, and maybe things wouldn't be all that different, but I do wonder about this idea of "wasting" one's life and what it means to be unmarried and in a part-time job.
2) I wonder if this cult-like aspect of Keiko's job has something to do with where she lives? Like, that would be WILD to do in a retail position like Keiko has. But I also have an American perspective about this.
3) Mum's the word!
4) I read ahead so I will be quiet about this one, too!
I'm excited to see what you think of Keiko and the rest of the book! She is an unsettling character at times, but I kinda adored her.
Oh, I'm glad you liked it. I know the last couple of CBBC books have been tough for you, so I'm happy to think you finally connected with one.
DeleteHave you ever worked retail? It's been awhile for me, but I worked as a cashier/front of the store worker at the regional grocery store Meijer in the late 1990s/early 2000s. This seemed exactly how I was trained in Michigan. We had expressions we were supposed to use on our faces, exact phrases to use, etc. We didn't chant, but we did have regular store meetings where we all stood around in a circle and put our hands in the middle and said "go team." I mean...I think this IS how a lot of retail is. I don't think it's just Japan!
I am loving this book so much! I started with the ebook version, but switched to audio, and I enjoy hearing how the Japanese words and names are pronounced. I love how the narrator yells, "Irasshaimase!" I have been to Japan, and they really do that in stores! For me, someone who has supposedly gone against traditional values by not having children, I identify with Keiko in some ways. I do think she's neurodivergent, but I think the book is more than a story about someone who is neurodivergent. There are so many nuances. It's one that makes me think!
ReplyDeleteOh, I should listen on audiobook. It never occurred to me to do so, but it would be fun to hear the pronunciations. I like to think I have bucked traditional values (no children, kept my last name when I got married), but I'm just fooling myself. I have a full-time job, am married, and own a home. *sigh* I'm just a normal cog. What would Stone Age me have to say?
DeleteHi, I’m new here — thanks to Jenny! And I’ve “met” Birchie in the fitness/running corner of the blogoverse too.
ReplyDeleteI read on my iPad and devoured the whole book yesterday afternoon.
I tend to think Keiko is a psychopath. I could overlook the bird, but bashing the boy and her thoughts about the baby did it for me. Plus her inability to understand others. But maybe she’s not, since she does want to fit in and works hard to do just that.
The pre-shift store stuff seemed a bit odd to me, but I chalked it up to Japanese culture and her perspective. That said, when I walked into Starbucks this morning and ALL the baristas made an effort to greet me (as I think they are “required” to do now) maybe it’s not so unusual in corporate customer service. (But I think Starbucks has gone overboard with it)
Birchie’s point about the book being more about what’s wrong with the world resonate for me.
Another question I have — how is her job part-time? She works 5 days a week and seems to work a full shift ….
Yeah, I mean, a lot of psychopaths have jobs, right? Powerful jobs like CEOs and surgeons? That's what makes me think she's NOT a psychopath. She's so good at reading other people's body language and reacting. She's in a very hands-on profession. But I think she can be read as one, too. It's definitely a debatable question.
DeleteI do wonder about the part-time thing, too. Maybe she's only working 6 hours shifts, so it's 30 hours a week? That would be part-time here in the States. I "joke" a lot that my job would be better if I could do 30 hours a week instead of 40 hours. Imagine all the time to do errands and housework!
I'm reading the paperback version of the book that I ordered on Amazon. This is a fun little book, and I'm thinking of suggesting it for my book club's list for next year.
ReplyDelete1. I believe Keiko is neurodivergent. I do think it would help if that was explained or identified, but I suspect that the author is trying to make a point, like There can be people who simply like doing 'x' for a job and there's no need to judge that. Shouldn't matter if she's neurodivergent. I loved how the sister tries to help her navigate the world with 'phrases'. The knife and the baby and the bonking the kid on the head with the shovel are unsettling thoughts/actions for sure though.
2. Hmm, I don't have a lot of exerience with work places trying to indoctrine their workers into a set belief system. Perhaps that's happening and the people I know are not working at places that do that. I assumed the weird chanting they did before a shift was part of their culture.
3. I hadn't thought about it, but I would bet we haven't seen the last of Shihara.
4. I think Keiko will stay at the store, or maybe she'll leave to work somewhere else and she'll see the error of her ways and come back?
I got a big kick out of how Keiko copies people, dressing like them, or agreeing with them. That is so pronounced here, but in real life I think we all do that to an extent. We just don't notice it. I'm enjoying how the author is using Keiko as an example of how we tend to imitate those surrounding us.
I also found it strange that Keiko is only working part time. It seems like she's at the store all the dang time. How can she make enough money to buy the expensive brands that her peers are buying? ;)
Oh, I have never considered suggesting it for my IRL book club, it's so short. Maybe they'd actually finish it...
DeleteMy workplace definitely tries to indoctrinate us into thinking we're a "family" so we don't notice when it does shitty things. It's insidious. There's a lot of chanting here at big events, even events that aren't athletics. (And don't get me started on how creepy I find athletic events.)
I am really enjoying this book. It is fascinating! But I am not sure I feel the same sympathy for Keiko that others seem to. I think part of that is because I am not convinced that Keiko feels much empathy for other people. It is not necessarily that she lacks empathy or an internal moral compass, but that her moral compass seems to point in a very different direction.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone read Jude the Obscure? Keiko reminds me a little of Little Father Time. I can imagine her committing a similarly horrifying act, following what seems to her like perfectly reasonable logic, without understanding why it is so terribly wrong. There is something deeply unsettling about her to me. I do not just see her as misunderstood or socially unconventional. I find her potentially dangerous.
Interesting. Can you say more about why you find her potentially dangerous? I don't see her as any more dangerous than other people with intrusive thoughts, but do you think those thoughts are more than that?
Deleteyes, I worry because of the things she did as a child. Braining someone with a spade, as you put it, or pantsing your teacher are not typical actions. We might *think* these sort of things, but she has a history of actually doing them, albeit when she was young. And the other children her age were shocked by those behaviors. What might she do if cornered, even as an adult?
Delete(I have only read the first half of the book, so I am not sure how it resolves.)
Now I'm going to reread Jude the Obscure. I am intrigued by the parallel to Keiko you see.
DeleteI think you're right that Keiko has little empathy for others, but she doesn't wish them ill. Her brain prefers her to stay in the convenience store world, and she does feel like such an alien in social settings.
Did you have siblings? I used to hit my sister over the head with all sorts of things, even though I knew it was wrong. She was annoying, you know? And my husband famously hit his oldest brother over the head with a flashlight because they weren't allowed to go on a fun outing until his brother woke up. I mean, maybe it IS unusual that Keiko did this to strangers, not family. Or maybe my husband and I were baby psychopaths who turned out mostly okay.
Deleteyes, 2 siblings, and I famously slammed the door on one of my sister's fingers once when she was chasing me into my room. It was an accident, and I felt bad afterward. I don't think Keiko feels bad about her impulses or her actions - just confused.
DeleteYeah, I still don't feel bad about anything I did to my sister. :) Maybe you should be worried about me allowed to be roaming loose in this world, too!
DeleteI looked up the same words as you did.
ReplyDeleteI may be the only one, but the book is so bizarre. The protagonist is extremely bizarre.
I'm hoping that she is neurodivergent and not a psychopath, but either way, she's pretty unstable. Right? I would not let her watch children; that is for sure.
Why do the employees chant before work? Like, can't they remember what their prompts are each day? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. What about Shiraha, who keeps mentioning The Stone Age, and he's so disgruntled for no apparent reason?
I do love that her sister is kind to her and tries to give her 'stories' to tell so she can fit in. Also, she seems to have a good amount of friends, so she must not be that bad...Hmmmm....so many thoughts!
There was a time while I was reading this that I wondered if I'd inadvertently taken a gummy because it was all so strange!
I need to see how this plays out, and I hope we get some answers in the second portion of the book.
I don't actually find it that bizarre. I think I know several people like Keiko. She goes to work, she pays rent, she does her business. Sure, she occasionally has weird thoughts, but she doesn't seem unstable to me.
DeleteI did not think this this book was all that strange, Suz, but I'd love to hear if other people did. It was no Kittentits or The Library at Mount Char, which are two books that deeply confused me.
It's better than Sky Daddy- that strangeness made me very uncomfortable. Keiko seems sonewhat familiar to me, but then I'm in mathematics, which tends to have people who diverge from normalcy at least a little, if not a lot.
DeleteI freaking love when she says the baby's face is soft like a blister-- HA! I do not think "normal" people observe the cult like aspects of the store. I think Keiko fetishizes them and gives them outsized weight.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is interesting. She's an unreliable narrator about this? That's super interesting.
DeleteBut...don't you see this type of cult-like behavior at your workplace? I mean, it's bad at mine - I can't imagine it at yours. Surely there's chanting and things at big events. Everyone is supposed to wear certain colors (our office refuses to do this and certain higher ups have gotten upset). We're supposed to say certain things to prospective students and families - the scripts are real!
My Libby hold came through and I listened to the whole book yesterday!
ReplyDeleteYour question about whether Keiko is neurodivergent or a psychopath is so interesting to me. I looked it up, and psychopathy is characterized by antisocial behavior, lack of empathy, and absence of guilt/remorse. Then I had to look up antisocial behavior, and that is characterized by (again) lack of empathy, disregard for rules, and a history of impulsive or aggressive conduct.
Hmm. I guess based on those definitions alone, I would say that Keiko is NOT a psychopath. I think she has a form of empathy: she considers how having a baby has impacted her sister, she considers the needs of her customers, and she tries to help Shihara improve at his job. Sure, she did some aggressive things as a kid, but they seemed less impulsive and more reasoned, and she seems fully capable of repressing those urges now. It does not seem as though she has any guilt or remorse; she wants to fit in, but not to the point that she feels bad about herself. (I don't think???) Also, she seems very clear on The Rules, both in her workplace and the looser social obligations that seem to cause her so much trouble. Sure, she's "breaking" a rule by sticking with her job in the convenience store long past social convention would dictate... but she is so aware that she's doing it that it feels almost like the rule-breaking is a necessity for her survival rather than a purposeful subversion. (SO FAR.)
My big question is: why the heck hasn't she moved up in the convenience store management chain? She is so good at what she does, why not climb THAT ladder? Wouldn't that fulfill the societal expectation of growth/improvement/"real" job?? Also, why the heck hasn't one of her EIGHT managers recognized that she possesses a unique talent for this job and offered her a promotion??? I suppose I can see how Keiko might find the idea of managing others to be uncomfortable, but it seems like such an obvious alternative to the discomfort of staying in a job that society deems unfit. Am I missing something? Did the novel address this at the exact moment I was distracted by cat/daughter/traffic?
I have read too many romance novels, because I was *sure* that Shiraha was going to be her love interest. I'm glad that the book is going in a different direction. Also: he is gross.
I suspect she hasn't moved up the chain because she's not a problem solver or independent thinker. She must follow The Rules and sometimes managers have to deal with things where The Rules just don't have answers. I bet she's a great worker, but I think she'd be a terrible manager. She doesn't really understand people, so having direct reports would probably not work for her, you know? I mean, the novel does NOT address this, but I think it's what's true between the lines.
DeleteShiraha really is gross. I like when books have an obvious villain.
It has been a while (2021) since I read this book.
ReplyDeleteBut I remember that at first I though that Keiko was a bit weird and some of her things where rather unsettling but the longer I followed her I saw that it was a very interesting character. I do think that society requires a norm and everyone not fitting in is labeled as weird. But maybe we do need to be a bit more accommodating of different takes in life.
I just received a copy of the book through the library and I think I cross read a few sections to be able to contribute a bit more to the discussion.