Convenience Store Woman.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

The book revolves around Keiko Furukura, a thirty six year old oddball, who spent the last eighteen years of her life working at a convenience store. The fact that she does not conform to the society is set from the very beginning of the book. Keiko recalls incidents from her childhood, that to her were normal, but caused distress to others. But to Keiko, being a convenience store worker was a revelation. She has a manual on how to behave with customers. She copies her fellow workers' expressions, speech patterns and behaviours to fit in. If they express anger at something, so does she. Even when with friends, she reacts to situations as her convenience store co-workers would do. Her life revolves around the store. 

But to her parents and sister, she needs to be cured. Her friends and their husbands question her lifestyle and her dead end job, suggest her to find someone to, even offering to set her up. Things take a funny turn when Shiraha, a sexist and lazy man joins the store, only to be fired soon. Keiko ends up making a deal with him- she would let him stay in the house and feed him, and in return the society would see them both as normal- two people cohabiting together, conforming to the society's idea of life. Keiko is amused by the way people around her reacted to this "relationship". Congratulations poured in for her finally being in a relationship, never mind the fact that he doesn't work or contribute to the household. 

The book is weirdly amusing. Whether it is a love story between an oddball and a store or if it is a cynical take on the capitalist machinery is for you to decide. The novel is elegant and deadpan and difficult to stop reading