For literary refreshment, try the playful, artful Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Best Summer Books
Observer
Exhilaratingly weird and funny ... Unsettling and totally unpredictable - my copy is now heavily underlined
Sally Rooney
Guardian
A sure-fire hit of the summer... quirky and profound
Irish Times
Fascinating... universally familiar
Guardian ... Read more
[A] short, deadpan gem... This is a true original
Stephanie Cross
Daily Mail
A new book from an incredible woman... from this dark and delightful [novel] springs a feminist rallying cry: trust yourself
Emerald Street
Murata's fascinating Convenience Store Woman, a tale about a happy misfit that's equal parts wily and disquieting
‘Best Summer Books’ selected by Lisa McInerney
Irish Times
I picked up this novel on a trip to Japan and couldn't put it down. A haunting, dark, and often hilarious take on society's expectations of the single woman. As an extra bonus, it totally transformed my experience of going to convenience stores in Tokyo
Elif Batuman, author
The Idiot
A darkly comic novel
'Best Summer Books’ selected by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Observer
Poignant, darkly comic and wonderfully uplifting, this novel will resonate with anyone who has ever felt out of kilter with the world around them
Summer Reads
Herald
This novel made me laugh. It was the first time for me to laugh in this way: it was absurd, comical, cute... audacious, and precise. It was overwhelming
Hiromi Kawakami, author
Strange Weather in Tokyo
Convenience Store Woman is a gem of a book. Quirky, deadpan, poignant, and quietly profound, it is a gift to anyone who has ever felt at odds with the world - and if we were truly being honest, I suspect that would be most of 'us'
Ruth Ozeki, author
A Tale for the Time Being
An offbeat, tongue-in-cheek read... a tale of finding one's own path to happiness
Laura Waddell
Skinny
The compelling English-language debut from Sayaka Murata ... enthralling
Elsbeth Lindner
Book Oxygen
When the protagonist [of Convenience Store Woman], a social outcast, is placed within the box of the artificially normalized convenience store, we begin to vividly see the strangeness of the people in the world outside
Yoko Ogawa, author
The Housekeeper and the Professor
Witty, wily, and astonishingly sharp, Convenience Store Woman proves that the deepest gouges can come from the lightest touch
Lisa McInerney What a weird and wonderful and deeply satisfying book this is. Sayaka Murata is an utterly unique and revolutionary voice. I tore through Convenience Store Woman with great delight
Jami Attenberg, author
The Middlesteins
I was really amazed by Convenience Store Woman and the particular reality it exquisitely portrays... I am sincerely delighted that such a novel has come into being
Ryu Murakami, author
In The Miso Soup
Convenience Store Woman is snarky and tender. It shows a woman trying to puzzle out how to be normal. This brilliant book will resonate with all of us who find life a little strange
Rowan Hisayo Buchanen, author
Harmless Like You
Adorable!
Before Brunch
Quirky, funny and beautifully observed
Daily Mail
I love it...Everyone has time to read this book!
The Gloss
It's rare to find a relatively static narrative evoke such an intense atmosphere
Cherwell Online
A short yet exciting read
Bath Magazine
[Keiko's] story will resonate with readers who wish they could be content in their own little worlds
Sun
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