Synopsis
Protagonist: Furukura Keiko
36 years old and unmarried. After graduating from college, she has worked part-time at a convenience store for 18 years. Since childhood, she has felt like an outsider, unable to fit into “normal” society and unable to meet the expectations of those around her.
For Keiko, the convenience store is the only place where she can function as a “normal person” if she follows the instructions.
Stocking products, serving customers, operating the cash register… she finds comfort in this orderly world.
She faces constant, well-intentioned pressure from those around her to become a full-time employee and get married.
Meanwhile, she meets Shiraha, an eccentric man hired by the convenience store for the purpose of finding a husband. Keiko attempts to live a “normal life.”
Through her strange life together with Shiraha, Keiko confronts the unnaturalness of assimilating into “normal” society and the difficulty of living her own life.
Eventually, she begins to redefine her own way of life.
Thoughts
Who decides what “normal” is?
The book quietly but pointedly questions the values imposed by society.
Perhaps everyone has their own individuality, but we only accept individuality within the bounds of what is considered “normal.”
Perhaps this book is teaching us that everyone should be free to live their own life.
・Convenience Stores = A Microcosm of Modern Society
Efficiency, uniformity, and impersonal human relationships…the depiction of convenience stores symbolically reflects the state of modern Japan.
As we experience various things, we may unconsciously be hammered with the rules of society, focusing too much on “what we have to do” rather than “what we want to do.”
Working under set rules at a convenience store may actually symbolize the nature of our society.
・A Combination of Humor and Incongruity
Keiko’s unique perspective and actions will simultaneously make readers laugh and feel uneasy.
