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(4.03/5)Really didn't like it, due to one character.
I'm going against the grain here but really didn't like the book. The first half of the book is actually quite nice. I like 恵子 as a character quite a lot and the way she resists 'normal' life. but then... 白羽 happens. I hate this character. Now you're supposed to hate him obviously, but I hate he's in the book at all. His personality begins and ends with "woman bad". To the point where he just seems cartoonishly evil to me. Sadly, he sticks around for the entirety of the second half of the book and it really ruined the book for me.
The grammar of the book is a lot harder than light novels of the same level, but because the vocabulary is quite simple it makes for good grammar practice.
Quick Easy Read
This book was entertainingly strange. Definitely not my favorite book I've read in Japanese, but I think it was worth my time both entertainment and language learning-wise. However, with that being said, as this book is about a コンビニ店員, there isn't much jargon whatsoever. Nearly all the words you'll encounter in this novel are the same book-ey words you'll see no matter what you read. As for reinforcing those words and grammar points, of course it's effective and great practice. However, as for learning new words, I think there are far better options.
Story-wise, I was entertained enough. I guess I wanted to be challenged a bit more linguistically. As someone who doesn't read much at all in English anymore, I think the book just wasn't entertaining enough for me to have my opinion of the book go beyond what I thought of it as a means to practice Japanese.
Overall good reading experience
My first Japanese Novel
So, this is my first Japanese novel and, obviously, I will be revisiting it multiple times as a benchmark for my Japanese reading skills (I will use it to see how far I have come from my 10th, 20th, 30th, nth book in Japanese, like a starting reference).
This book is very popular among Japanese learners (I also picked it out because of its popularity), but it is also accessible to those who are starting out in their Japanese journey. The author is also popular in Japan as well. Her writing style/prose isn’t that hard to grasp and she does a great job to connect with her audience through mundane experiences.
Going through the book, and it being my first read, I’ve missed a lot of culture references/nuances, jokes, puns that just went over my head, or I simply just didn’t understand them entirely because of how radically different my culture is from Japan’s culture (I am American btw). The grammar and vocabulary is pretty straightforward (a lot of it is recycled and gets repetitive as you dive in deeper into the book; it feels like a natural SRS).
Overall, I am just glad that I got done with this book and my reading speed has increased tremendously after this. I’ve mostly read manga in the past, but now I am transitioning towards reading more novels and lights novels in the future.
Great language learning material.
This book is great for learning Japanese! The vocabulary found here can be seen everywhere in Japan. The story starts amazingly well. We follow this character who has worked in a convenience store for many years. The author presents us with situations that make us question how the modern world works. However, my interest in the story was decreasing the more I read. However, I had problems finishing this book. Upon reaching 70% of the book, I just wanted it to end soon. The story felt like it dragged, and at one point, I just didn't like the characters.
Nice book and good for learning
Very good book for learning japanese. Most of vocabulary is useful and easy grammar is used. The only difficult part is sentence length, it has several sentences which I had to reread because I had already forgotten what was it about lol. In general, an easy read with pleasant writing (never tested myself but I'm N4+ I guess so even if it's your first book, you are good). Story-wise it's entertaining and never got bored.
Great N2 Book
This is one of the most popular books for JP learners, so I'm happy to have finally finished it. I have a mix of feelings about the story, but I enjoyed it overall! The plot was unique and mostly kept me interested, and the language difficulty was perfect for me. At times, I felt that characters were clichéd purely for the purpose of driving home a point, but I enjoyed the ending. 7.5/10
話し手の方は難しいので、グループで一緒に読んでよかったです
「コンビニ人間」は29レベルになったのに、32レベルになった「もものかんづめ」という短編集の方が分かりやすいことがあります。例えば、「もものかんづめ」はエッセーなので、作者は大抵自分のことについて書いているが、「コンビニ人間」の白羽さんというキャラクターの会話は、特に、大抵あちこち話しているので、他者のことか自分のことかは全然理解できないこともあります。しかし、読書会で音読したり、訳したりしたら、メンバーに手伝って説明してくれてとてもありがたいです。よく勉強になって、もう一度読み直してみたいです。
「コンビニ人間」は私の日本語の読んだ小説が二つ目です。今、「キッチン」という小説を自分で読んだのは本当に理解出来たかなと思います。
この小説は読んで面白いと同時に、考えさせられます。それに、日本の文化や考えを学べるので、おすすめです。
Learned quite a few words for "certain" body parts.
The story first is kind of bland but soon it becomes very funny and you're just "wtf are they talking about anyways?". I really found it very entertaining and learned a lot of new good words. 100% recommendation as its a short but fun story.
more fun than most lightnovels
A short book at 150 pages. One of the most fun reads I have had in a while. I related very often, I laughed very often. Very easy to read.
A highly recommended book, and I can see why.
It's quite approachable in terms of difficulty for someone getting into reading prose, although there are some easier and some harder sections. Having a basic knowledge of コンビニ and 敬語 going in certainly helps with understanding.
The themes of the book are strong, and although at times it can feel a bit deflating or depressing, following the main character's journey towards some form of self acceptance and removal from the whims of others is heartening. It certainly hit home in certain parts.
Overall, a very well-written book, I would recommend to people looking for works from the perspective of those in Japan who feel like they are separate from society, with no way of bridging the gap.
Amazing book
The story is really good and the writing is deliberate and well thought out. For a language learner it's a no-brainer to read this. Book also makes me sad and make me doubt whether I'm a schizoid too so there's that.
Wonderful Thought-Provoking Story
This is a great first book for those looking to bridge the gap at upper level N2. The story is very well written and it challenges you to comprehend what you are reading. There is a lot of vocabulary in the beginning 30 pages or so that I recommend you make flash cards for, as they show up throughout the story. Overall, I enjoyed the twists and learning how each character develops and interacted with one another, and would encourage this for anyone looking for a more philosophical and thought provoking story. Great overall!
I liked the book but one thing I didn't expect was how much the difficulty of the vocabulary fluctuated when comparing the different sections. Especially in the latter half of the book I found that there were whole paragraphs that were packed with words that I had never seen before (and also with comparatively low frequency), while at other sections in the book I basically flew through the pages. That might just be a personal blind spot tho... :|
I still encourage reading it, as it isn't very long and also has a book club where a lot of difficult sentences are already discussed, so you won't have to go look all over the internet for explanations :)
Definitely not my favorite book
The first 30 pages are quite entertaining as we follow the daily life of 古倉さん, but then the story becomes increasingly boring.
This book tackles the societal problems that women face (getting married, having children...) and it's quite interesting on that front except that it doesn't really become more developed but rather repetitive over and over and over again.
There's a lot of everyday vocabulary which is repeated so it's good for learning. For me, the main problem with the language was the long sentences which were sometimes difficult to understand.
Overall it's a good book for useful vocabulary and grammar, but the story really goes round in circles and it got so boring that I couldn't even finish the last 20 pages.
Short and not so sweet
Great book to read for upper-intermediate learners. The author repeatedly uses a lot of the same vocabulary which helps for learning. The story is straightforward and grounded in reality, but entertaining enough to stay engaged. There's a good critique of class-based structures, the pressures of modern life, and mental illness.
Initially I was hesitant to pick it up because how interesting can a convenience store be? However, if you're at all fascinated with Japanese 'conbini' there's a lot to dig into here. I particularly enjoyed the 'behind-the-scenes' look at how a conbini is managed. Definitely recommend for a light read that is also entertaining and thought-provoking.
Thoughts on the Plot
Positives
A few scenes where it really gracefully switched between dramatic, comedic, sad, ...
Subtleties of how other characters acted/spoke translated into what 恵子 took away from an encounter. This I thought was done nicely.
Negative
恵子 views the world in a very different way to others, but even still, I found some of the jumps in logic/plot a bit jarring. This is probably intended in many cases, but I didn't love it.
Language Side
Many good things about this book for language learning. Lots of common situations/scenarios, relatively simple grammar/writing style. Occasionally tangents with some slightly more complex vocab, but relatively easy to gloss over if needed
Wonderful book.
As others have said, this is a great book to look with a look into Japanese culture. I'm around an N2 level for reading and the book was doable. There were a few pages and conversations that I struggled with, however overall I didn't really have any issues.
It make me retate to that Institutied old man from The Shawshank Redemption
sociaty plant 'nomal people template' to everyone's brain, before that, they are free
Not my favorite Murata read. It was still fun and engaging, especially the first half, but it went slightly downhill after that. Language wise, there are some sections (especially those coming out of 白羽's mouth) that were slightly difficult to understand, but nothing extremely troublesome. Overall, I liked it. Murata's writing is clear, almost never confusing: she's always a safe bet (for me) when choosing a new book to read!
Get swept up in the mundane environment of the conbini
For Japanese language learners, this book is great for N3 level (including those who are studying for it). There's lots of repetition of the same kanji oftentimes on the same page, which makes this the ideal novel to read for those who are seriously studying kanji. With that said, the description of the setting is unique even when describing the mundane everyday work of the convenience store. It's written in a way that makes the environment sound fascinating, and as you read, you will discover why.
I started reading this book with no knowledge of the plot, only what I could deduce from the title of "convenience store human." I thought it would be more about the critique of humans working as robots as they go on their everyday life, but it's much more than that.
The English title "Convenience Store Woman" actually provides more insight into the main character who is nothing short of an oddball in her circle. The book critiques Japan's societal standards as we follow the main character's everyday life. Although you may critique her life choices along the way, you can't help but want to cheer her on as she finds her own place in society, whether that means by following the status quo to fit in or by finding her own niche that makes her happy, because in the end, that's what the average reader is all really trying to do.
As a side note, I've found that many readers stop midway after a certain misogynistic character is introduced, but if you power through, I feel the ending is rewarding. It's a short book that can be enjoyed at a slow pace, but as the plot thickens, it feels very fast-paced in the end.