Convenience Store Woman: Another Angle
This past week, I’ve been reading Convenience Store Woman, a short book (only 167 pages!) by Sayaka Murata. With its quirky main character who feels like she functions differently from the other Tokyo citizens, and its character-driven story, Murata’s novel is a 100% must read.
Though short, this book was incredibly interesting, as it details the seemingly mundane life of 36-year-old Keiko Furukura, a convenience store worker who refuses to quit her job and can’t seem to fit in to Tokyo society.
I know Literary Lazy Susan was created for the sake of sharing Asian-American stories in particular, but after reading this Japanese tale, it was hard not to post it on here.
When I thought about making a post for this novel, the first thing I thought of was: what sets Asian-Americans apart from Asians in Asia? The most obvious answer has to be the actual geographical differences, but the second most obvious answer is the cultural clashes between Asia and America. While reading Convenience Store Woman, the polite Japanese culture was a huge literary theme but also a huge challenge for Furukura. Not to spoil anything about the novel, but Furukura’s biggest secret is that she simply cannot understand why the people around her do the things they do, such as why they shop for clothing or act surprised when she doesn’t want to marry; despite the confusion, Japanese values of being civil and well-mannered stop her from acting on her curiosity. However, in America, while these traits are definitely controlled within Asian-American households, not all Asian-Amerian people carry the same values outside when they interact with other Americans.
However, even as I picked up on the cultural differences between Furukura and me, I also noticed a tremendous amount of similarities: I relate to her awkwardness, how she interacts with her peers, and just her overall behavior. Beyond all the more personal, character-related things, I also relate to her on a cultural level. While I said I found major differences in values between the novel characters and me, I also see how the polite manner my parents raised me with parallels the characters’
And so, with this almost yin-yang nature of Asian-ness versus American-ness, the Asian-American experience is such a unique one.
With that, I hope everyone takes a look at this wonderful novel (it really does not take very long too :)) and I would love to know what are your thoughts on the merging of Asian and American values <3