I’m not sure what to make of this book by Sayaka Murata.
It’s super short for one thing, so there isn’t much to discuss as far as plot goes. But I have some friends who just absolutely adored it, so I think my expectations might have been set a little too high, because I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
The main character, Keiko, is a little … off. It’s never clearly said what’s wrong with her because she doesn’t believe there’s anything “wrong” with her. But her solution to a schoolyard fight was to bash a kid on the head with a shovel, so, yeah, something is definitely wrong there. She talks a lot about how she’s not “normal” and criticizes the people around her for not being able to accept the fact that she’s just not like them, but there’s a difference between not accepting someone just because they’re a little off, and not accepting violence.
At one point she talks about her nephew and, not only does she not feel any kind of emotional attachment to him, but she suggests the most efficient way to quiet him when he’s crying is a knife. That’s not someone who’s a little “off” or even on the autism spectrum. That’s a sociopath.
Except sociopaths are usually very good at mimicking other people’s behavior and facial expressions, and they tend to be very materialistic, which sometimes means they’re ambitious, other times they’re just looking to mooch off someone else.
Keiko is neither good at mimicking the behavior of “normal” people, nor is she materialistic or ambitious. She has found her calling working in a convenience store, and while it might not pay very well, she’s not looking to mooch off anyone else to make a more comfortable life for herself. Her life revolves around the convenience store and she’s happy that way. It’s highly regulated and full of routine, which Keiko appreciates. Plus, the protocol for dealing with customers gives her a prescribed reaction for every situation, so it’s probably the only job that teaches her how to interact with other people. Sometimes she uses that training to interact with people outside the store and it doesn’t always translate very well, but the idea is that she’s making progress.
Unfortunately, society is not so happy with her progress. They can’t understand why she’s never had a boyfriend, much less gotten married and started having kids. And they can’t believe that her life’s ambition is to work a dead-end job in a convenience store.
So she starts living with some random guy who used to work with her, but couldn’t even hold down a job for a full week. By moving in with her (and mooching off her), he gets to sit on his ass doing nothing all day while she gets to tell everyone she’s living with a guy.
It was at this point that I could identify with Keiko because, as a single woman who’s hardly ever dated, I’ve definitely had to deal with people not being able to comprehend, not only why I’m not dating or married, but how a woman could show no interest in dating or marriage. As soon as Keiko tells people she’s living with a guy, they all jump to their own conclusions, and I can tell you from experience that is 100% accurate. You feed people a tiny bit of information and they’re more than happy to use it to create a whole story that fits whatever narrative they want to believe. It’s a great way to get them off your back when you’re tired of trying to answer inane questions.
Also everyone is happier thinking Keiko is in love with a deadbeat who couldn’t hold down a job than thinking she’d rather live alone, and that, too, struck me as true.
Unfortunately, Keiko’s part-time job at the convenience store isn’t enough to support both her and the mooch, so he convinces her to quit her job so they can start looking for a more lucrative position for her (he still has no interest in getting a job).
On the way to an interview, they stop at a convenience store that happens to be short staffed and Keiko promptly gets to work because she just can’t help herself. She claims the store is telling her what it needs and she’s just obeying. When the mooch asks what she’s doing and tells her society will never let her “get away with it”, she ignores him because it doesn’t matter. She was made to be a convenience store worker, and if society doesn’t like it, that’s society’s problem.
OK, writing about it has made me realize how much I enjoyed this book. But if Keiko is so good at her job at the convenience store, why was she never promoted? Why isn’t she at least a manager, if not someone higher up the corporate ladder by now? Did she refuse the promotion when it was offered? I feel like this needs to be explained.