REVIEW: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

(I haven’t posted a review on this blog in literal years. On Goodreads, it’s spotty at best but I’m trying, okay?)

For my first read of the year, I went with a little novella about… well, a convenience store woman by the Japanese author, Sayaka Murata. I saw this available on Hoopla Digital and for a little over three hours of that day, I had something to do.

I felt that this was a perfect read for to ease myself into the year and into one of my “resolutions” of reading more books by Asian authors. And I’ve always wanted to read this since I first saw it at Kinokuniya. The narrator, Nancy Wu, did a good job of pronouncing the character names so it was a win-win for me.

What is a “convenience store”? Here in the US, we have 7-Eleven and gas station mini shops, and specifically in the Los Angeles Union Station, a Trimana. In Japan, they also have 7-Eleven and other stores called Family Mart, Lawson, Daily Yamazaki, and so many more.  So what is a “convenience store woman”? It is what it says… a woman working in a convenience store. And she is our main character in this story.

(The Japanese title 「コンビニ人間」 literally translate to “convenience store person”.)

Keiko Furukura is 36 years old but still works parttime in a convenience store (when I was reading this, I was picturing a Family Mart). She shows up early the same time everyday, restocks shelves as needed, greets patrons with fervor, promotes timed sales, and is just an all-around yet unassuming part of the team. This book is a hilarious slice of life of everyday Japanese people. There’s a convenience store in every corner, especially in the big cities. A lot of them are open 24/7 and there’s always a person there greeting you “いらっしゃいませ！(Irasshaimase!)” But probably not as lively as Keiko would. 😉

I loved this so much. I was so engaged! If you don’t know, I spent a good part of 2019 traveling to Japan, where this book is set, and there is pretty much a convenience store (or three) at almost every block. It honestly kept me fed for the most part of my trips whenever I was too tired to go to a proper restaurant… or if my brain to too fried to manage in what little Japanese I know. I’ve become very familiar with convenience stores in Japan – as a customer, of course. If it carries onigiri, I might’ve gone through their doors. The hotel I frequent has a Family Mart at their ground floor and that’s where I tasted the best napolitan thus far.

I found myself nodding and laughing at so many parts of this book. From the greetings to how they arrange their wares to “make sure you get out of the way when you see a customer looking at something on the shelf”. It was such a slice-of-life, not just for the konbini workers, but also to the patrons of such establishments. If you’ve been to one, you would probably agree with me lol.

The author even expanded to Keiko’s life when she’s not working. It gave a peek at how Japanese society view age, jobs, family, and social status. While Keiko’s former classmates and “same-age friends” have married and had children and careers, she was content with her baito – part time job – at the convenience store and being single. This fact is disappointing to her parents and even to some of her friends. She finds support from her younger sister but that doesn’t stop her from hoping more things for Keiko.

Overall, it was a short and very enjoyable read. Now, I miss Tokyo. XD But it looks like I’ll be coming back for a visit some time soon!

(Also, I listened to this in English and found myself translating some scenes back to Japanese. It was THAT relatable to me!)

コンビニ人間 (Konbini ningen) by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

Rating: 5 stars.

Review: The Creeps by Fran Krause

Man, I haven’t done this in a long time! And my last one was also a Blogging For Books assignment. XD

I don’t know what took me so long to review this. I received this graciously from Blogging For Books late September; just in time for the Get Graphic readathon. In fact, this was my first read for that weekend. So what took so long? Uhm… I don’t exactly know how to review a picture book. Hah.

But I will try my best. Here goes.

The Creeps: A Deep Dark Fears Collection by Fran Krause is a little illustrated book about just that… a book of fears. But don’t be fooled. Some entries are cute, yes, but some made me stop and ponder about my own mortality. Really. All of these are legit fears, no matter how simple they are. Some center around the fear of the paranormal: ghosts, ghouls, monsters. Then some are what scares me more: embarrassing social situations that can (and has) happened in real life.

They are illustrated mostly in 4-panel comic strips. I like the almost childlike art style. It makes the situations seem friendlier… until it actually scares the wits out of you. I did tab a few – a couple – of my favorite situations, especially those that gave me pause. At first, I thought this book wasn’t going to affect me much because it takes a lot to scare me. But I was thinking of horror situations with ghosts and slashers, that kind of stuff. I wasn’t expecting this little book to hit me where it hurts the most. The fear of humiliation, being alone, rejection, failure… all of those are featured in a comic strip or two.

So yeah, I was expecting this to be a quick read, forget about it when I’m done. But no. This little book stuck with me and hey, it’s staying on my bookshelves for good. 🙂

Rating: 4/5 stars. It is a quick but meaningful read.

Review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This is the word “cute” in book form. I am so glad that I happened to be drawn into this bright red cover at a random trip to Goodwill.

(And I’m so excited to know that this is the Australian edition cover. Now, I have to track down the sequel in the same edition. Hello, Book Depository!)

Book surprises are the best things ever. You’ll never really know if you’re going to like a book until you get into it. To be perfectly honest, I picked up this book out of desperation. I was going to Little Tokyo after work and I knew I had a two-hour wait until I met up with my brother so I headed off to Goodwill for cheap reading material. I didn’t find anything to my liking until I saw this book. I saw another copy in the blue cover, the US one I think, but I opted for this one instead. I’ve heard of this book before. I didn’t know much about it. I didn’t have any expectations. Contemporary isn’t even my genre. But something about it made me want to read it.

Don Tillman is single. He is very smart, an established academic specializing in genetics with a reputable job, a good home, and interesting hobbies. He has a few friends and loves a good drink. And he is out looking for a wife. But he’s not doing it in the conventional way. You know, going out and meeting people – or going online and striking up a conversation with someone who sparks his fancy. No, he’s doing it in the most precise and academic way possible.

He called it “The Wife Project”. It is a questionnaire for the woman to answer so Don can weed out those that doesn’t fit the criteria. She has to satisfy every single item to his liking. She can’t smoke, drink, must have a certain GPA, should not have any hereditary defect, etc. It’s ridiculous. Understandably, no one made the cut. Hey, no one is perfect.

Until Rosie comes along. Rosie Jarman smokes, drinks, works at a bar, curses… everything that Don frowns upon. But there was something about her that Don couldn’t explain. And he couldn’t get rid of her.

Spoiler(s) ahead.

Review: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

채식주의자 / 강한

DISCLAIMER: I got this eARC for free from NetGalley.

Expected publication: February 2nd 2016 by Hogarth (first published October 30th 2007).

What a beautiful book. Disturbing, yes. Yet oh so tragically beautiful. My only “negative” was that I wasn’t reading it in the original Korean. But don’t get me wrong, this translation is pretty damn good.

This is my 2nd “translated to English” book in a row. One of my criticisms for The Dinner was about the translation. It lost some of the tone of the story. In this book, Deborah Smith was able to carry over the mood.

But I am getting ahead of myself. The Vegetarian is told in three parts, narrated by three people. The story revolves around Yeong-hye (영혜), a young Korean woman who suddenly decides to get rid of all the meat in her diet and go vegan. The title says “vegetarian” but she even quits eating butter and cheese. Her decision does not go well with the rest of her family. Yeong-hye physically threw out all the meat from her home which meant her husband could not eat meat as well. Her family staged an intervention that only made matters worse. Her one decision to go vegetarian/vegan sets off a domino effect among the rest of her loved ones.

Yeong-hye is described in the book to be incredibly plain. Even her husband says so. He narrates the first part of the book. He tells of his struggles with work, his wife and her sudden decision. “I had a dream” was the only reason she gave. The second part has quite a time jump. We see the story unfold through Yeong-hye’s brother-in-law, J. Here, he describes his frustrations with his work, family life, and himself. This part of the novel reveals a twisted obsession with love, sex, and passion. Yeong-hye further sinks into insanity, further affecting those around her. The third part is told by her big sister, In-hye (인혜 언니), wife to J. Again, some time passes between parts 2 and 3. Yeong-hye is now just a shell of what she once was. She’d lost everything but In-hye still stayed by her. In-hye herself was unsure as to why she was still standing by her younger sister (여동생). If she were to continue, she risked to also lose herself and everything she had but if she leaves, she could not live with the thought that she abandoned someone she loved.

It’s hard to describe this novel. On the surface, it is one long character study of Yeong-hye and her relations. It can be a peek into the cultural differences between Korea and the rest of the world. Can this shed light on their opinions about vegetarianism? Did Yeong-hye have a reason to turn vegetarian – is this simply an act of rebellion?

One has to understand that it is different in Korea. It’s different in Asia in general. Tradition is very, very strong and what society thinks of a person is a huge influence. I’m not saying that they’re backwards… just… different. I can’t really explain it but having lived in both places (born and raised in Asia, now living in the USA) I can tell that there are huge differences, especially in opinions, between East and West. Personally, while I don’t agree with the way Yeong-hye’s family handled her diet choice, I do understand where the reaction roots from. I apologize if this review is a little vague and all over the place. You just have to experience this novel to find out.

Rating: 4/5. Four, because I really want to read this in the original Korean. While my understanding of the language is still a little elementary, I can read/write it enough and with the help of reference materials, I can surely slug through it.

Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch

The Dinner / Herman Koch

Some people will “sing for food”. Some will “dance for food”. But what will you do for free books? I blog for books.

I got this copy of the book for free from this website called Blogging For Books. It is a service similar to NetGalley but they also provide hard copies to members in exchange for a review. And it’s not always an ARC or an upcoming release. This particular book was published in 29 October 2013. It has been made into two films with another one rumored to be directed by Cate Blanchett.

The Dinner by Herman Koch is not my usual choice of reading material. I don’t have much experience with literary fiction but I’ve dipped my finger into it in recent years. It takes on a more “serious” note; a big difference from the recent additions to my TBR. It is about two couples meeting up for dinner at an exclusive restaurant. One pair consists of a popular politician, Serge, and his wife, Babbette. The other couple is Paul and Claire. Paul is Serge’s younger brother. We follow the story through his point of view. Both families have fifteen-year-old sons who grew up together. Serge has another son adopted from Africa. The two couples meet not only just for good food, they came together to discuss their sons. They’ve done something unspeakable and it was up to their parents to pick up the pieces.

It took me a while to process this story. My version of the book is an English translation from the original Dutch by Sam Garrett. I found it a little bit stilted, the words didn’t flow very well with each other. Split into four “courses”, it is incredibly detailed and you’re fed these details little by little. It progresses slowly – consistently slow – even if it jumped around every chapter. One moment, we’re observing their dinner at present day; the next, we’re given backstories on their respective families, relationships, and personal experiences. At first, it didn’t really make sense. Why do we need to know that Serge has an adopted son? What’s the point of establishing that Paul and Claire have a favorite cafe? All of that is a set up to make the reader either justify the ending or challenge it. I honestly was surprised it ended up the way it did but I thought it really didn’t need ALL of that build up. Or it could be just the choppy translation.

The book tackles a number of social issues. Up in front is the clear power of money and authority. Serge was slated to be the next Prime Minister. He could get an instant reservation at a restaurant with a six-month waitlist. It also shows the influence of being in power. They could make it just go away. But then, there’s also the reality of the fragility of status. You spend your whole career building up your name and it only takes one person or event to have it all crumble down. Especially on Serge’s part, he represents the importance of “looking the part”. One can not be the sharpest tool in the box but you can compensate for that with charisma.

I did like the story although I felt that the translation lost some of the magic of the original. Granted I have not read (and could not read) the Dutch version but I’m pretty sure that one has better flow to the words and story. I’m not taking anything away from the translator’s work though. Being multi-lingual myself, I know how confusing it can be and what a huge task not only putting words into a different language but preserving the mood, meaning, and tone behind it. Overall, The Dinner is a great conversation piece for a book club. A lot of things can be dissected and analysed. Heck, you can even play the parts of the characters, see how you would react to their circumstances.

Rating: 3/5.

Read review on the Blogging For Books website.

Review: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

The tl;dr version of this review is that this is one HUGE advertisement for Google. That’s all it is. It started off with so much potential. But after all the Google hype and navigating through all the technology, I’m not entirely sure if I got the point. If it even has a point.

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The bookstore’s secrets extend far beyond its walls.

I’ve always wanted to work at a bookstore. I actually looked into it in the past. For a book lover, it seems like a place where I can enjoy working… and bust my paycheck as soon as getting it in my hand. In my head, I had that image of it being a magical place where I can get lost in all the wonderful books in my disposal. (Then I realized, a library fits that bill more than a bookstore.)

Clay Jannon took the bookstore job out of necessity. He was out of a job and needed one. After a few days of working at this strange bookstore operated by Mr. Penumbra, he begins to see weird stuff happening, meets strange customers. Clay is young and curious so he did some digging and accidentally cracked the mystery wide open. For years, several men and women have tried to solve it, old-school style. Clay did in in no time with the use of… yes, the Internet.

There exists a whole organization whose sole purpose is to find a secret message hidden in a certain series of books. To find a certain person, I believe. When Clay and his group of silicon valley friends start to find clues and solve them, the old people start to take notice. Sort of like, “Wow~ what is this sorcery?” kind of situation. There was a part where Mr. Penumbra himself says that technology is the way to go if they want to solve the mystery before they died. But the thing is, it’s taboo for them to use technology. Or… they just didn’t know how. Eh.

It was tough for me to get through. This book definitely was creative and imaginative. But it didn’t really go anywhere. I keep waiting for something to happen but I got to the end and… nothing. What did the author want to happen? What’s the point?

However, I did love following their mystery-solving adventures. I thought that was great and it would translate well on screen if ever they want to do that. The characters feel relatable and you can easily see them walking down the street towards you. The older people are fascinating characters; some of them remind me of Hogwarts professors.

My biggest takeaway from it is the supposed inner workings of the Google Company. From the various articles that I’ve read, Google seems like a pretty cool company to work for. Not just for the necessary benefits but also for all the perks that come with the office. I’m not sure how accurate the portrayal is in this book but it’s pretty fascinating. It is so far away from your boring 9 to 5 at your bare cubicle. Here, they even sneak into Google and what do you know, they don’t get caught. For a place written up to be state-of-the-art, they have to up their security.

Overall, this book gets points for being creative and unique. It had promise. But I’m docking points because it was all for nothing. When you finish a book, whether it be good or bad, you tend to remember stuff. Remember why it was good or why it was bad. For this one, all I could remember was just one word: Google.

Rating: 3/5. I’m glad I read it and I do recommend it. But I may need to read it again if I truly want to get the point.

FIRST TO READ | Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

I’m sure a lot of you are subscribed to Penguin’s First to Read program.  If not, you’re welcome.  They have a system where you can request advance digital copies of books and/or read excerpts and get points while you’re at it.  We all have overflowing TBR piles but it doesn’t hurt to check out other stuff… and add it on to that pile, right?  🙂

I’ve been on the site for a couple of weeks, yeah I was late to the party too, and this morning, I came across a book that caught my eye.  I read the excerpt and I was very intrigued.

The book is Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.  I wasn’t able to secure an advance copy but the short bit was enough.  And the cover is really pretty.

The blurb starts out with this:

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio.

And that was all I needed.  I went straight for the excerpt and I was wowed.  It was set up nicely, and even with those few pages, it was fast paced and really intriguing.  It reminded me of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold as well as a bit of Back Roads by Tawni O’Dell.  I’m definitely putting it on my wishlist.  Hopefully, it won’t get lost in that huge and still growing pile.

Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places / Gillian Flynn

I swear, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are becoming my book-to-film First Gentleman and First Lady.  I previously reviewed the book sources of their movies: Serena, The Silver Linings Playbook, and Warm Bodies.  Now to level the playing field with two each, here’s Dark Places.

Gillian Flynnmade waves thanks to her novel Gone Girl, which will have its own film adaptation later this year.  Everyone was raving about it so I decided to check it out.  While at Costco, I only saw this novel.  Frankly, this blurb caught my attention more than Gone Girl‘s.  And it did not disappoint.

We are introduced to Libby Day, the sole survivor of a bloody massacre almost twenty-five years ago.  Now a grown woman, the money and the sympathy she got as a seven-year-old victim is running out, she needs to find a source of income.  Having been rendered depressed, lazy, and jaded by the events that followed the tragedy, Libby is left with missing fingers and toes, no friends, no family, no skills, and no money.  In her time of need, she turns back to the one event that ruined her life: “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas,” her Darkplace.

The person who was blamed for the murders was her then 15-year-old brother, Ben. He wasn’t the most popular or well-liked. He had a bad reputation among townsfolk that frankly, he brought upon himself. Like with many convicts, there is a group who believes his innocence. They are called “The Kill Club”. A group member, Lyle (will be portrayed by Nicholas Hoult in the movie), approached Libby with a deal – spend some time with us and we will pay you for your time. Libby was the star witness at her brother’s trial and all her life, she believed all the stuff that was told to her as a young child. She never recanted or even contemplated on that; shut it out of her life.  But what if she was wrong?  After all, she was a gullible child who went through a horrifying trauma. What started out as a paid assignment for The Kill Club became a personal mission for Libby.

Some books have that ONE TWIST in the end.  Like things are happening and then BAM, the current changes and everything begins to unfold.  It is not the case with this book.  It changes POV among the Days – Libby, Ben, and their mom, Patty.  The flashbacks as told by Patty and Ben narrate the happenings on January 2, 1985, leading to the exact event of the massacre. We follow Present Day Libby on her investigation with Lyle. Events unfold steadily. The pace is one of the book’s strengths. I just could not put the book down. Yeah, I find some parts more compelling than others but there wasn’t a filler chapter anywhere.

Libby is an unbecoming hero. She’s perfectly flawed. I sympathized to her more as a grown up than a child. She let that tragedy dictate her life until she had to wake up and face reality. And when she finally had to do that, she didn’t whine and complain… much.  She soldiered on and her search for truth became her drive to move forward, not really for other people, but most importantly, for herself.

Although, I must say that the ending is reaching a bit. I mean, it can still happen in a Criminal Minds situation. Even during the reveal, I had to re-read some passages to get the full picture. It is quite intricate.  Too intricate.  Speaking of Criminal Minds, this can easily be the subject of similar shows.

The book tells a story of complete waste of life. Lives were ruined over nothing. Libby went through an empty life when she didn’t really have to.  I could only imagine her existence; those twenty-five years of just coasting, feeling sorry for herself.  Libby’s mother gave up on life. Her father had a throw-away life. In the end, the truth was uncovered but it is still a tragic tale. The cycle does not stop there.  Libby did find out what truly happened but what next? Now that The Kill Club got what they wanted, where’s Libby going to get her money now?  The author left it at that.

It’s been a while since I read a good mystery novel that is not a police procedural.  Gillian Flynn hit all the right places.  I am genuinely excited to read her other works, especially with all the film adaptation buzz.

Rating: 5/5.  Go forth and read it now.

Review: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Labor Day: A Novel / Joyce Maynard

I have yet to watch the movie starring my lovely Kate Winslet.  Based on the trailer, that seems to be less dreary than this read.  But then again, that’s what trailers do… drum up interest to an otherwise uneventful work.

Labor Day is told through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Henry. He lives a rather solitary life with his severely depressed mother, Adele.  A few days before the Labor Day weekend, while they were out shopping, Henry meets Frank who turns out to be an escaped convict.  Against everything that was taught by our elders, Adele and Henry take Frank to their home.  Through out the week, Frank bonds with Adele and Henry, teaching him how to play catch, basically filling in the shoes of a father.  Just when things are looking up for all of them, something goes terribly wrong.

It has the tone that reminds me of Atonement or Norwegian Wood.  A very dreamy, sleepy feel that is almost hazy around the edges.  It is Henry’s coming-of-age, a series of events that happened to him when he was 13 that shaped him until his adulthood.  Henry didn’t really have many positive influences before Frank came into their lives.  It’s a nice contrast, the best person that touched your life has done bad things in his own life.  Maybe that was Frank’s purpose – to reach out and be somebody to someone.

The book takes on a format where the author does not mark dialog with quotation marks.  It reminds me of the format used in Angela’s Ashes.  It’s confusing at first, and some along the way, but it’s easy to get back to it.  The scenes are pretty mundane but becomes pretty poignant as it goes along.  You can feel how lonely Henry is, how hurt Adele is, and see what kind of person Henry’s dad is.  In that way, the narrative format works in making the days and situations longer.  The bulk of the story happens in less than a week but it definitely feels longer.

SPOILER ZONE.

Review: The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

The First Phone Call from Heaven / Mitch Albom

It’s been a while since I read a Mitch Albom work.  The Five People You Meet in Heaven was that book and I liked it.  But not as much as Tuesdays with Morrie.  Oh, that tearjerker!  Did I like this one as much as these other books?

Well, here’s how I rate them:  Tuesdays with Morrie > The First Phone Call from Heaven > The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  Wow, Mr. Albom seems to like “heaven” a lot.

I quoted this book in my first Book Beginnings Friday.

On the day the world received its first phone call from heaven, Tess Rafferty was unwrapping a box of teabags.

Drrrrnnn!

Albom sure knows how to kick start a novel.  My interest was caught from the get-go.  It is set in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan (which is a real town but is fictionalized in the book, according to the author).  We meet Sully Harding who is recently released from jail and is just trying to live a normal life.  But what he experiences is far from normal.  People from his town are getting these mysterious phone calls supposedly from people who have already passed on.

Among the “chosen ones”, Katherine Yellin decides to share her good fortune to the world.  This sends Coldwater into a media circus.  Believers, fanatics, and protesters flood the streets, wanting a piece of this “blessing”.  But not everyone is buying into the hype.  After being wronged by life, Sully is skeptical.  Having lost his wife while he was in jail, he vows to protect his little boy, Jules, from false hope and keep him away from the crazies.  As much as he wants his wife back, something about this phenomenon does not sit well with him.

It is a well-paced novel.  The build up is steady like all these scenes are converging to a big reveal.  The reader can definitely feel that there is something lurking around the corner and when you get to that point, everything starts to unravel.  There is a light bulb moment as if you’re a sleuth solving a crime. And yet, it is not overwhelming.  Instead, it is explained and supported very well.  My only complaint is that the events in the end are a bit too convenient.

It is a heartwarming story of hope – real and false – and of belief.  Sure, there was some craziness going on, a picture of what religious fanaticm does to people.  A small town is turned upside down because of some reason, “God” chose them as recipients of these heavenly phone calls.  It also shows desperation caused by grief.  I know the pain of losing someone.  I’m not going to lie… if it were at all possible, I would love to hear from that loved one again.  But truly, we don’t need phone calls to communicate.  That ability is already inside of us.

Rating: 4/5.  It was successful in blindsiding me.  And I really loved Sully’s character.  He was so jaded and unconvinced yet very real at the same time.  To me, his skepticism made him relatable.

Side note: What if those five people you meet in heaven are the ones making these phone calls from heaven?  Kidding!