READ THIS BOOK IF…
- You’re in the mood for something weird and quirky but also dark and disturbing
- You’re interested in a book that examines identity and conformity. But it’s also a love story between a woman and a store.
- Kung at one point in your life you felt like you didn’t belong in your inner circle (or the society as a whole) which resulted to a “need” of having to fit in
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
Keiko is a 36 year-old Tokyo resident who works in a convenience store since she was 18. Masaya naman sya at wala syang balak na mag-quit kasi sobrang kuntento sya sa trabaho nya at sa buhay nya in general. Kaso andaming echosera na sobrang judgmental kasi sa age daw nyang yon, dapat daw may asawa at anak na sya. At dapat daw makahanap na sya ng ibang trabaho kasi minamaliit nila yung trabaho ni Keiko as a convenience store worker.
I would assume you already read the book so hindi na ko magta-try ikwento, pero gusto ko lang i-highlight yung mga moments na meron akong na-feel na strong emotions while reading the book like yung sobrang natawa ako or nagulat ako. Tapos may konting personal stories kung pano ko naka-relate.
At speaking of gulat, matiwasay lang akong nagbabasa kasi sinimulan nung author yung storya na bata pa si Keiko. So na-imagine ko naglalaro sila sa park with her playmates. Cutie cute cute. Tapos may nakita silang patay na ibon. Nung pinakita nya yung dead birdie, at nai-imagine ko pa yung enthusiasm nya, sabi nya sa nanay nya, “Let’s eat it!” At dun ko na-realize na kakaiba ‘tong si Keiko at kakaiba ‘tong librong binabasa ko.
As mentioned kanina, this book explores identity and conformity. I think lahat naman tayo na-experience na ‘to pero kwento ko lang yun akin. Sa buong buhay ko, feeling ko dalwa yung major adjustment ko where I felt like I “need” to fit in para ma-feel yung sense of belongingness.
At sabi nga sa iba pang mga libro (Sapiens and Digital Minimalism), wanting to fit in is human nature. Kasi nagsimula pa daw yan 2.5 million years ago wherein kapag loner ka, maliit ang chance of survival mo. Makakain ka agad ng wild animals or mamamatay ka agad sa gutom kasi wala kang tribe. At sabi nila, nadala daw natin yun hanggang ngayon. Kasi kahit hindi naman in danger yung buhay natin, wala nang wild animals, may abundance na of resources, ingrained pa rin sa utak natin na kelangan natin maki-join sa tribe.
Nung nag-highschool ako, lumipat ako sa school sa kalapit bayan namin. Dun sa bayan na yun, iba silang magsalita, medyo iba rin manamit. Tapos medyo advanced sila kasi parang yun yung main city sa probinsya namin. Andun yung mga malls, dun merong Jollibee at Mcdo. So as a teenager, nakaka-intimidate agad. Ako sobrang fascinated na, “Wow meron silang mall dito.” Pero sa kanila, wala lang sa kanila kasi sanay na sila. So parang kelangan kong i-hold back yung enthusiasm ko para hindi ako magmukang tanga.
My speech is especially infected by everyone around me and is currently a mix of that of Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara. I think the same goes for most people.
Sabi ko diba iba silang magsalita, kaya sobrang naka-relate ako sa quote na yan. Kasi I tried na i-mimic kung pano sila magsalita. Kasi pag iba kang magsalita compared sa kanila, tatawanan ka na agad. Teenagers are mean and insecure kaya as simple as pananalita, papansinin na agad nila. So ako since ayokong maging center of attention, gagayahin ko na lang.
Naka-survive naman ako at through exposure to other people, nakabuo ako ng identity ko. May napanood akong isang documentary (The Mind Explained ata yun) na malaking percentage daw ng personality ng isang tao ay influenced by their peers nung kabataan nila. Konting percentage lang daw yung galing sa household. Kaya dun sa mga may anak jan, kelangan talagang maging wary kung sinong mga nakakasama ng anak nyo.
Yung pangalwa naman ay nung nag-trabaho na ko sa Maynila. Nakakainis kasi iba nanaman silang magsalita dun. Kelangan nanaman mag-adjust ng dila ko. At kung noon feeling ko ay sobrang advanced na ng Lucena, grabe ang Maynila. Kung sa Lucena dalwa lang yung malls, sa Maynila daan! Hindi naman bago sakin ang Maynila kasi pumupunta naman kami dun pag special occasions like Pasko. Pero yung titira ako dun, at makakasalamuha ko ang mga Maynila-in, mind blowing.
At hindi mawawala kahit saan yung mga taong judgmental at insecure kaya again, feeling ko kelangan ko nanaman mag blend in to some extent. To some extent lang. So hindi naman same nung highschool na mas malaki yung adjustment. Since medyo strong na yung values ko, may mga ibang aspect lang na kelangan akong i-tweak. Katulad nga nung pagsasalita ko. Kaya tuloy ngayon, halo halo na yung punto ko. Hindi ko na sya totally mabalik sa dati.
Anyway, isa pang nakaka-relate ako kay Keiko ay parang wala sa plano nyang mag-asawa at magkaanak. Dun ako sa magkaanak part nakaka-relate kasi may asawa naman ako.
When I was in my early twenties it wasn’t unusual to be a freeter (a Japanese expression for people who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding housewives and students), so I didn’t really need to make excuses. But subsequently everyone started hooking up with society, either through employment or marriage, and I was the only one who hadn’t done either.
Another funny bit:
Even my testicles are the property of the village! Just by having no sexual experience they treat you as though you’re wasting your semen.
Shiraha
🤣🤣🤣
I feel like itong book na ‘to ay isang malaking patama talaga sa society. Karamihan nga kasi ng tao, especially yung mga boomers, pag iba yung trip ng ibang tao compared sa life choices nila, they will immediately judge na mali yung decisions nung tao na yun. Kasi sa kanila yung tama (how condescending). Hindi ba pwedeng parehong tama? Wala bang ibang way para mabuhay?
…we live in a world that is basically the Stone Age with a veneer of contemporary society…
Nakakatawa pa kasi nalaman nung tito at tita ko na hindi ako nagsisimba. Sabi ng tita ko, baka daw kasi masyado akong nalibang sa Maynila. Tapos kaya raw hindi kami nagkakaanak kasi hindi pa daw kami ready. Basta ang tingin nila samin sobrang immature namin. Hindi pwedeng ayaw lang namin?
Ang ganda nung bit na ‘to pero hindi ako agree sa paghampas nya ng shovel sa classmate nya 😅
It was the same as when I’d hit that boy with a shovel at school. All the adults had jumped to the unfounded conclusion that I must be an abused child and blamed my family. That way they could understand why I’d done such a terrible thing and therefore have peace of mind. So they’d all pressed me to admit my family situation was to blame for what I’d done. What a pain I thought, wondering why everyone felt such a need for reassurance.
Tapos…
When something was strange, everyone thought they had the right to come stomping in all over your life to figure out why. I found that arrogant and infuriating, not to mention a pain in the neck. Sometimes I even wanted to hit them with a shovel to shut them up, like I did that time in elementary school.
Tawang tawa ko dito 😆
Last about social acceptance:
“And so I realized. This society hasn’t changed one bit. People who don’t fit into the village are expelled: men who don’t hunt, women who don’t give birth to children. For all we talk about modern society and individualism, anyone who doesn’t try to fit in can expect to be meddled with, coerced, and ultimately banished from the village.”
Kung natawa ko dun, may mga scenes din na disturbing. Example yung dumalaw ata sya sa ate nya tapos iyak ng iyak yung baby ng ate nya. Tapos stressed na yung ate kasi ang ingay. Eto yung pumasok na thought kay Keiko:
I looked at the small knife we’d used to cut the cake still lying there on the table: if it was just a matter of making him quiet, it would be easy enough.
Huyyy Keiko!
Pero sabi nung ka-book club namin, parang may autism spectrum disorder daw si Keiko. Na-stun talaga ko nung una ko yung nabasa pero medyo naintindihan ko na nung sinabi yun ni ka-book club (Hello Renelle!)
This book made me more appreciative of convenience store workers and made working in a convenience store seem enticing. Yung pagkaka-describe nya sa routine nya sa work, parang sobrang saya. Sobrang obvious na in love sya sa ginagawa nya. And when I say in love, as in literal na in love. Kaya naman nung huling part, may strange nanamang kaganapan. Medyo hazy na sa memory ko pero basta merong part na hinalintulad nya yung pagpasok nya sa convenience store to like having sex. Whatt??
At dun natatapos ang mga thoughts ko dito sa book na ‘to. Haha kaya laking pasalamat ko sa book club eh. Nakaka-discover ako ng mga ganitong klase ng libro. Minsan masaya din ma-shake yung utak mo ng ganitong kakaibang ideas.
It came full circle when at the beginning, she was doing this job to fit in and satisfy society’s expectation. And when she realized that this is something she wants to do for as long as possible, it’s no longer acceptable. But in the end, she followed where her heart lies. It’s a happy ending after all.
RATING [4 🌟]
I love this book. It’s quirky and strange but totally relatable and uplifting. To conclude, eto yung mga napulot ko:
- Follow your natural rhythm even if not everyone appreciates it
- Respect everyone’s roles
- People who aggressively shove their opinions down your throat are the oddballs
Click to view my digital bookshelf.
As much as I want to be a decent book critic, alam kong hindi ako yun. I just try my best to give a review and these reviews are more of a personal consumption anyway. Kaya nung nabasa ko ‘tong review na ‘to, kelangan ko syang i-add dito kasi very well put. I hope I can be half as eloquent as these book critics.
It seems all too fitting that Murata’s disaffected man, Shiraha, lashes out at a cold world with demands and reproach, while the female narrator quietly seeks out a space within that unwelcoming world where she can contribute. To anyone living in the world today, in Japan or the U.S., it should come as little surprise that the sharpest consequences for a man’s pain and a woman’s pain both fall, in the end, on women.” — Claire Fallon,Huffington Post
Also, ang cool na 20 years nagtrabaho sa convenience store yung author.
PS: Gusto kong i-try ko yung isang drink na binanggit dun sa book, yung chocolate-melon soda. Di ko ma-imagine yung lasa parang sobrang weird.
Gleniz Da Menace 