Scan barcode
luckyonesoph's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Very no-plot-just-vibes. Keiko (and her story) make some interesting points about the role of employees under capitalism and societal norms and expectations for women, but the misogyny of one if the main characters made it annoying to read at some parts. But, it was short and fast-paced enough that I read it in one sitting, so I can’t complain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape
carbs666's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm not really sure how to review this book beyond saying it was extremely weird and I liked it very much. A short book that tricks you into believing not much is happening but continues to surprise you with increasingly bizarre and dark events/reflections around the MC/narrator. I found the descriptions of the way the narrator embodied the convenience store to be strangely evocative and really beautiful. Something about comfort and meaning in the mundane and menial? Superb translation work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
cassie_04's review
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
If you get it you get it. This is a book that tells more how it is to be autistic rather than how people want being autistic to be. Although quite extreme in its protrayal of this experience, I think the book has to be so as the properly convey the story and emotions to non autistic people. Otherwise the book would not be thought provoking enough to the average reader. I loved it, although I honestly wish Shiraha had not been so violently sexist, as it made the book a bit too uncomfortable at times, and I was in many places fearful he would assault Keiko. I feel the story would have been told better without him and a different character in his place. Perhaps an opposite kind of woman to Keiko coming to work in the store, to act as her foil and to make her question whether she was happy in her life.
Overall, I loved it. More absurdist autistic literature please.
Overall, I loved it. More absurdist autistic literature please.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Violence
myk_yeah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was not what I was expecting at all. From reviews I had heard on youtube I thought it was going to be about a woman who was truly happy with her job, even though she has to live under capitalism.
It was darker and heavier than I feel people represent it. It's about the pressures of society and how they are sexist, ableist, and anti-worker. It's about how people push those pressures onto their loved ones. And how we survive, but no one in this book is really thriving.
It was darker and heavier than I feel people represent it. It's about the pressures of society and how they are sexist, ableist, and anti-worker. It's about how people push those pressures onto their loved ones. And how we survive, but no one in this book is really thriving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Stalking and Violence
augie_'s review
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Violence
erebus53's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was recommended this book by Abigail Melton Munday on the Autistics Worldwide Facebook Group. This is not a person I know, but as the group is public I feel OK naming them.
Seemed like a good idea to read a few titles in aid of Autism month.
The first thing that struck me about this book was how the sales pitch on the cover was completely wrong. As an Autistic reader, perhaps I have a different take on it, but I don't think it's witty or hilarious. I'd go with interesting and perhaps thought provoking. It's definitely much more funny (oh.), rather than funny (ha ha!).
My Japanese is quite sketchy, but as someone who ran the anime club for about a decade I was fairly culturally literate. This is a story set in Japan, and some of its "oddness" is Japanese, and some is neurological. It wasn't until the end of the book that I heard the original title was コンビニ人間 (Kombini Ningen - or convenience-store person). Looking up the Kanji for the protagonist's name, I was amused to find that it could indeed be considered a pun as, I have been told, is common in Japanese literature. Alternate readings of the name "Furukura" do have different meanings and though it could be commonly read as Old "River", it could also be read as "Hideaway", "hiding place" or "storehouse". This is an apt name for a girl who learns early in life that if she acts intuitively, her ways of doing things will get her into in big trouble. She instead becomes someone who masks herself behind walls of affectations and habits learned by copying the "normal" people around her.
This characterisation was interesting to me in a couple of ways. The first is that this girl is depicted as feeling justified for violence. In my experience, denying regret for childhood violence used when you are in the middle of a panic or urgent situation, is less about being remorseless and more about protecting yourself from being criticised. Engaging with negative self-critique can be really difficult when you don't even understand your own motivations. She clearly has some failure to understand the emotions of others, but her disdain for others at times borders on not just Autistic, but callous. Some writeups online suggest that the character might be sociopathic, but her rigid attention to rules and guidelines and her disinterest in lying or manipulation has me convinced that she's Autistic. I do find it a little problematic that this Autistic child is depicted as creepy and dangerous.. but at the same time, it's realistic to demonstrate the fact that when people don't understand you they may want to keep away from you.
The thematics of this book seem quite tongue in cheek. It's a commentary of the cultural ideas that we take for granted. You are an inhuman weirdo if you dedicate yourself to something you are an expert at, passionate about, but that also confers low social status. You are expected to selflessly find a man to dedicate yourself to the service of, maintaining your looks, cooking and cleaning, and bringing comfort with a calm and positive demeanour for the benefit of your household.
But, that's basically the same thing.. only with one of them you are required to also be a bedslave, and if, like this character, you are asexual, then you also come up against the influences of those who tell you that you are not good enough, and that you need to have a baby to be a valid contributing woman within a society.
Keiko feels pressured into finding a human male to affect a relationship with so as to keep the people around her happy with her. As she becomes more and more aware of the masks she feels she has to wear just to have human contact, she realises how false her friendships with others are, and how unwilling they are to accept her. The talk of Curing her difference hit me like an emotional fist. It's been so many years since I faced a person in my sphere who thought I was unworthy because I was strange, and it brought some of that memory back.
Some of the most moving parts in this story for me were Keiko's sense impressions of the Kombini. I know exactly what it is like to sense your environment through its sounds, and the clues and patterns that hint what your next interaction will be. I feel with my house. I am in tune with its rhythms and sounds in much the same way. I know when pets need feeding, and when the traffic will be loud, or quiet. The act of getting off public transport a block before your stop I immediately understood as a chance to figure out what the mood of the day was; is it likely to rain?, is a special event on?, are there roadworks?, will people feel energetic, or low?.. all these would affect the systems in the shop, and the hypervigilance that she channels into managing those systems felt SO familiar to me. Recognising patterns like how a person's body language or sounds can tell you what method of payment they might use, cash or card. Yep, this is how I interact with my world.
I think this book packs quite a bit in for a short read.
Seemed like a good idea to read a few titles in aid of Autism month.
The first thing that struck me about this book was how the sales pitch on the cover was completely wrong. As an Autistic reader, perhaps I have a different take on it, but I don't think it's witty or hilarious. I'd go with interesting and perhaps thought provoking. It's definitely much more funny (oh.), rather than funny (ha ha!).
My Japanese is quite sketchy, but as someone who ran the anime club for about a decade I was fairly culturally literate. This is a story set in Japan, and some of its "oddness" is Japanese, and some is neurological. It wasn't until the end of the book that I heard the original title was コンビニ人間 (Kombini Ningen - or convenience-store person). Looking up the Kanji for the protagonist's name, I was amused to find that it could indeed be considered a pun as, I have been told, is common in Japanese literature. Alternate readings of the name "Furukura" do have different meanings and though it could be commonly read as Old "River", it could also be read as "Hideaway", "hiding place" or "storehouse". This is an apt name for a girl who learns early in life that if she acts intuitively, her ways of doing things will get her into in big trouble. She instead becomes someone who masks herself behind walls of affectations and habits learned by copying the "normal" people around her.
This characterisation was interesting to me in a couple of ways. The first is that this girl is depicted as feeling justified for violence. In my experience, denying regret for childhood violence used when you are in the middle of a panic or urgent situation, is less about being remorseless and more about protecting yourself from being criticised. Engaging with negative self-critique can be really difficult when you don't even understand your own motivations. She clearly has some failure to understand the emotions of others, but her disdain for others at times borders on not just Autistic, but callous. Some writeups online suggest that the character might be sociopathic, but her rigid attention to rules and guidelines and her disinterest in lying or manipulation has me convinced that she's Autistic. I do find it a little problematic that this Autistic child is depicted as creepy and dangerous.. but at the same time, it's realistic to demonstrate the fact that when people don't understand you they may want to keep away from you.
The thematics of this book seem quite tongue in cheek. It's a commentary of the cultural ideas that we take for granted. You are an inhuman weirdo if you dedicate yourself to something you are an expert at, passionate about, but that also confers low social status. You are expected to selflessly find a man to dedicate yourself to the service of, maintaining your looks, cooking and cleaning, and bringing comfort with a calm and positive demeanour for the benefit of your household.
But, that's basically the same thing.. only with one of them you are required to also be a bedslave, and if, like this character, you are asexual, then you also come up against the influences of those who tell you that you are not good enough, and that you need to have a baby to be a valid contributing woman within a society.
Keiko feels pressured into finding a human male to affect a relationship with so as to keep the people around her happy with her. As she becomes more and more aware of the masks she feels she has to wear just to have human contact, she realises how false her friendships with others are, and how unwilling they are to accept her. The talk of Curing her difference hit me like an emotional fist. It's been so many years since I faced a person in my sphere who thought I was unworthy because I was strange, and it brought some of that memory back.
Some of the most moving parts in this story for me were Keiko's sense impressions of the Kombini. I know exactly what it is like to sense your environment through its sounds, and the clues and patterns that hint what your next interaction will be. I feel with my house. I am in tune with its rhythms and sounds in much the same way. I know when pets need feeding, and when the traffic will be loud, or quiet. The act of getting off public transport a block before your stop I immediately understood as a chance to figure out what the mood of the day was; is it likely to rain?, is a special event on?, are there roadworks?, will people feel energetic, or low?.. all these would affect the systems in the shop, and the hypervigilance that she channels into managing those systems felt SO familiar to me. Recognising patterns like how a person's body language or sounds can tell you what method of payment they might use, cash or card. Yep, this is how I interact with my world.
I think this book packs quite a bit in for a short read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Ableism, Grief, Misogyny, Violence, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Bullying, Mental illness, Stalking, and Xenophobia
Minor: Chronic illness
dosxhime's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm relating too much to Keiko, and that scares me omfggggg.
The prose of this novel is amazing and conveys Keiko's thought process well. I (kinda) understand the reflection the author was getting at and honestly, it gave me a bit of anxiety. In a good way, of course.
The ending made me laugh because wow Keiko can't resist who she is at all.
4/5 B-
The prose of this novel is amazing and conveys Keiko's thought process well. I (kinda) understand the reflection the author was getting at and honestly, it gave me a bit of anxiety. In a good way, of course.
The ending made me laugh because wow Keiko can't resist who she is at all.
4/5 B-
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Minor: Rape
rionstorm's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. The main character is heavily autistic coded, and absolutely charming. I adored her from the very start.
I really enjoyed her matter of fact narration, and the loving attention she put into describing different aspects of the convenience store.
I loved the ending too, it was so satisfying and nice to see her follow her own wants and let go of neurotypical societal demands and expectations placed on her which she neither agreed with or cared about.
Definitely reccomend :)
I really enjoyed her matter of fact narration, and the loving attention she put into describing different aspects of the convenience store.
I loved the ending too,
Definitely reccomend :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Misogyny
Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
zotty's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia
sianjkh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jumpscare warning: incel
a very good book nonetheless. lent it to my english teacher and school librarian and they both said it was very good 👍
a very good book nonetheless. lent it to my english teacher and school librarian and they both said it was very good 👍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse and Violence