Convenience Store Woman By Sayaka Murata Quotes

The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects. Anyone who is lacking is disposed of. So that’s why I need to be cured. Unless I’m cured, normal people will expurgate me. Finally I understood why my family had tried so hard to fix me.

After all, I absorb the world around me, and that’s changing all the time. Just as all the water that was in my body last time we met has now been replaced with new water, the things that make up me have changed too.

When something was strange, everyone thought they had the right to come stomping in all over your life to figure out why.

The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects. Anyone who is lacking is disposed of.

Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.

Anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering.

So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing. The specific form of what is considered an “ordinary person” had been there all along, unchanged since prehistoric times I finally realized.

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. But I recalled how upset my sister had been when I’d casually mentioned this to her before and kept my mouth shut.

My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me.

I find the shape of people’s eyes particularly interesting when they’re being condescending. I see a wariness or a fear of being contradicted or sometimes a belligerent spark ready to jump on any attack.

The sensation that the world is slowly dying feels good.

Deep down I wanted some kind of change. Any change, whether good or bad, would be better than the state of impasse I was in now.

The long-forgotten silence sounded like music I’d never heard before.

I am one of those cogs, going round and round. I have become a functioning part of the world, rotating in the time of day called morning.

As long as you wear the skin of what’s considered an ordinary person and follow the manual, you won’t be driven out of the village or treated as a burden.

Maybe people who thought they were being violated felt a bit better when they attacked other people in the same way.

As far as I was concerned, though, keeping my mouth shut was the most sensible approach to getting by in life.

I’d noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy. If I went along with the manager when he was annoyed or joined in the general irritation at someone skiving off the night shift, there was a strange sense of solidarity as everyone seemed pleased that I was angry too.

Up until now he’d been ranting about people meddling in his life, yet here he was attacking me with the same kinds of reproaches that were making him suffer. His argument was falling apart I thought. Maybe people who thought they were being violated felt a bit better when they attacked other people in the same way.

When I first started here, there was a detailed manual that taught me how to be a store worker, and I still don’t have a clue how to be a normal person outside that manual.

I just want to exist, quietly breathing.

there were two types of prejudiced people—those who had a deep-rooted urge for prejudice and those who unthinkingly repeated a barrage of slurs they’d heard somewhere.

In other words, you play the part of the fictitious creature called ‘an ordinary person’ that everyone has in them. Just like everyone in the convenience store is playing the part of the fictitious creature called ‘a store worker.

When I can’t sleep, I think about the transparent glass box that is still stirring with life even in the darkness of night. That pristine aquarium is still operating like clockwork. As I visualize the scene, the sounds of the store reverberate in my eardrums and lull me to sleep.

Now, too, I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara’s faces: Good, I pulled off being a “person.

For breakfast I eat convenience store bread, for lunch I eat convenience store rice balls with something from the hot-food cabinet, and after work I’m often so tired I just buy something from the store and take it home for dinner. I drink about half the bottle of water while I’m at work, then put it in my ecobag and take it home with me to finish at night. When I think that my body is entirely made up of food from this store, I feel like I’m as much a part of the store as the magazine racks or the coffee machine.

So that was it: now that she thinks he’s “one of us” she can lecture him. She’s far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality—however messy—is far more comprehensible.

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.

My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me. I am currently made up of 30 percent Mrs. Izumi, 30 percent Sugawara, 20 percent the manager, and the rest absorbed from past colleagues such as Sasaki, who left six months ago, and Okasaki, who was our supervisor until a year ago. 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. When some of Sugawara’s band members came into the store recently they all dressed and spoke just like her. After Mrs. Izumi came, Sasaki started sounding just like her when she said, “Good job, see you tomorrow!” Once a woman who had gotten on well with Mrs. Izumi at her previous store came to help out, and she dressed so much like Mrs. Izumi I almost mistook the two. And I probably infect others with the way I speak too. Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.

The number one reason I love you is that you make me human.

It's not a matter whether they permit it or not. It's what I am.

At that moment, for the first time ever, I felt I’d become a part in the machine of society. I’ve been reborn, I thought. That day, I actually became a normal cog in society.

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.

A convenience store is a forcibly normalized environment where foreign matter is immediately eliminated. The threatening atmosphere that had briefly permeated the store was swept away, and the customers again concentrated on buying their coffee and pastries as if nothing had happened.

I couldn’t even imagine what a perfectly functioning society would be like. I was beginning to lose track of what 'society' actually was. I even had a feeling it was all an illusion.

It is the start of another day, the time when the world wakes up and the cogs of society begin to move. I am one of those cogs, going round and round. I have become a functioning part of the world, rotating in the time of day called morning.

I mean, if finding a job is so hard, then at least you should get married.

Well, I guess anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering.

You eliminate the parts of your life that others find strange—maybe that’s what everyone means when they say they want to “cure” me.

What a pain I thought, wondering why everyone felt such a need for reassurance.

I no longer knew what standard to live by. Until now, my body had belonged to the convenience store, even when I wasn’t working. Sleeping, keeping in good physical shape, and eating nutritiously were all part of my job. I had to stay healthy for work.

He seemed to have this odd circuitry in his mind that allowed him to see himself only as the victim and never the perpetrator I thought as I watched him.

I'd noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy.

Good, I pulled off being a “person.

So even though you hate people meddling in your life, you're deliberately choosing a lifestyle they won't be able to criticize? Surely that was tantamount to accepting society wholesale I thought, surprised.

She's far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality - however messy - is far more comprehensible

After all, I absorb the world around me, and that's changing all the time.

I’d never meant to make them sad or have to keep apologizing for things I did, so I decided to keep my mouth shut as best I could outside home. I would no longer do anything of my own accord, and would either just mimic what everyone else was doing, or simply follow instructions.

For eighteen years, there has always been a manager, even if his appearance keeps changing. Although each is different, taken all together I sometimes have the feeling they are but one single creature.

I'm poor too, so I can't give you any money. But if you're not fussy I can provide your feed for you." "What?" "Oh sorry. It's the first time I have kept an animal at home, so it feels like having a pet, you see.

Maybe people who thought they were being violated felt a bit better when they attack other people in the same way.

A convenience store is a world of sound.

If it had been that simple all along, I thought, I wish she'd given me clear instructions before, then I wouldn't have had to go to such lengths to find out how to be normal.

But Yukari was right I thought. After all, I absorb the world around me, and that’s changing all the time. Just as all the water that was in my body last time we met has now been replaced with new water, the things that make up me have changed too.

The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects. Anyone who is lacking is disposed of. So that’s why I need to be cured. Unless I’m cured, normal people will expurgate me. Finally I understood why my family had tried so hard to fix me.

Look, anyone who doesn’t fit in with the village loses any right to privacy. They’ll trample all over you as they please. You either get married and have kids or go hunting and earn money, and anyone who doesn’t contribute to the village in one of these forms is a heretic. And the villagers will come poking their noses into your life as much as they want.

I finally realized that maybe I shouldn’t have done what I did, but I still couldn’t understand why".

They looked so bizarre I thought they must all be out of their minds.

My ears and eyes are important sensors to catch their every move and desire.

Dunia normal adalah dunia yang tegas dan diam-diam selalu mengeliminasi objek yang dianggap asing. Mereka yang tak layak akan dibuang.

A convenience store is not merely a place where customers come to buy practical necessities, it has to be somewhere they can enjoy and take pleasure in discovering things they like

Deep down I wanted some kind of change, whether good or bad, would be better than the state of impasse I was in now.

If you don't have a husband or career, you have no value for society.

And so, believing that I had to be cured, I grew into adulthood.

A convenience store is a forcibly normalized environment, so the likes of you are fixed right away

As long as you wear the skin of what's considered and ordinary person and follow the manual, you won't be driven out of the village or treated as a burden

And I probably infect others with the way I speak too. Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.

A convenience store is not merely a place where customers come to buy practical necessities, it has to be somewhere they can enjoy and take pleasure in discovering things they like.

That’s why contemporary society is dysfunctional. They might mumble nice things about diversity of lifestyles and whatnot, but in the end nothing has changed since prehistoric times.

I was just thinking how much brisker the morning session was when the manager led it, when Shiraha muttered under his breath: “Ugh, it’s just like a religion!” Of course it is, I thought.

I couldn't stop hearing the store telling me the way it wanted to be, what it needed. It was all flowing into me. It wasn't me speaking. It was the store. I was just channeling its revelations from on high.

She's far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, that she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality-however messy-is far more comprehensible.

In other words, you play the part of the fictitious creature called an 'ordinary person' that everyone has in them. Just like everyone in the convenience store is playing the part of a fictitious creature called a 'store worker'.

The news about Shiraha spread through the store like wildfire. Every time I saw the manager he started pestering me with: “How’s Shiraha? When are you going to bring him out drinking with us?” I’d always had a lot of respect for manager #8. He was a hard worker and I’d thought of him as the perfect colleague, but now I was sick to death of him only ever talking about Shiraha whenever we met. Until now, we’d always had meaningful worker-manager discussions: “It’s been hot lately, so the sales of chocolate desserts are down,” or “There’s a new block of flats down the road, so we’ve been getting more customers in the evening,” or “They’re really pushing the ad campaign for that new product coming out the week after next, so we should do well with it.” Now, however, it felt like he’d downgraded me from store worker to female of the human species.

Everyone was crying for the poor dead bird as they went around murdering flowers, plucking their stalks, exclaiming, “What lovely flowers! Little Mr. Budgie will definitely be pleased.” They looked so bizarre I thought they must all be out of their minds.

Listening to my friends go on about me and Shiraha was like hearing them talk about a couple of total strangers. They seemed to have the story wrapped up between them. It was about characters who had the same names as we did, but who had absolutely nothing to do with me or Shiraha.

You gave me the flow of time, with morning, afternoon, and night, and the gift of miraculous shoes to walk around the real world. For me you were a magician. Without you, I would probably have lived my life without ever being aware that a period of time called morning even existed.

My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me. I am currently made up of 30 percent Mrs. Izumi, 30 percent Sugawara, 20 percent the manager, and the rest absorbed from past colleagues such as Sasaki, who left six months ago, and Okasaki, who was our supervisor until a year ago.

Since coming here, I sometimes wonder whether there really are any true Earthlings at all. Maybe we're all Popinpobopians. We were Popinpobopians from the start, and Earthling brainwashing worked for everyone except us three. Earthlings are just an illusion created by Popinpobopians to enable us to live on another planet.

My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me. [...] My speech is especially infected by everyone around me and is currently a mix of that of Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara. [...] And I probably infect others with the way I speak too. Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.

I find the shape of people’s eyes particularly interesting when they’re being condescending. I see a wariness or a fear of being contradicted or sometimes a belligerent spark ready to jump on any attack. And if they’re unaware of being condescending, their glazed-over eyeballs are steeped in a fluid mix of ecstasy and a sense of superiority.

Once we donned our uniforms, we were all equals regardless of gender, age, or nationality—all simply store workers.

The door opened quietly, and a tall man, almost six feet and lanky like a wire coat hanger, came in, his head drooping.

Sometimes I even find myself operating the checkout till in my dreams.

Arrastraría mi carga genética yo sola hasta el fin de mis días, procurando no dejar ni una huella en ningún lado, y cuando yo muriera se perdería para siempre.

It felt strangely soft, like stroking a blister.

She’s far happier thinking her sister is normal even if she has a lot of problems than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine.

So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing.

Just as all the water that was in my body last time we met has now been replaced with new water, the things that make up me have changed too.

Benim konuşma tarzım da bir başkasına bulaşmış olabilir. Bu şekilde birbirimize özelliklerimizi bulaştırarak insan olmayı sürdürüyoruz sanırım.

Topluma karışmamışsan işe gir derler, işe girince daha fazla kazan derler, diyelim ki kazandın, evlenip çoluk çocuğa karış derler. Sürekli dünyanın cezalandırmasına maruz kalırsın.

Kendini normal gören insanların, normal olmadığını düşündükleri insanları yargılama merakı vardır.

[...] probably infect others with the way I speak too. Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.

I guess anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering.

People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren’t on trial, you know.

It was the first time anyone had ever taught me how to accomplish a normal facial expression and manner of speech.

When I think that my body is entirely made up of food from this store, I feel like I’m as much a part of the store as the magazine racks or the coffee machine.

I wish she’d given me clear instructions before, then I wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths to find out how to be normal.

I stuffed the food before me into my body so that I would be fit to work again tomorrow.

Menikah itu persoalan dokumen, terangsang adalah fenomena biologis. Shiraha

Mungkin orang yang merasa hidupnya dilanggar oleh orang lain akan merasa sedikit lebih baik dengan menyerang orang lain menggunakan cara yang sama.

People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren't on trial, you know.

That's the image of you that pleases them the most.

That's the image of you that pleases them the most. Isn't it wonderful?

For the first time, I could think of the me in the window as a being with meaning.

When I open the door, the brightly lit box awaits me—a dependable, normal world that keeps turning. I have faith in the world inside the light-filled box.

It appears that if a man and a woman are alone in an apartment together, people’s imaginations run wild and they’re satisfied regardless of the reality.

and I wonder whether I’m someone we can use or not. Maybe I’m working because I want to be a useful tool.

So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any to put it in writing.

My current self is formed almost completely of the people around me.

Oh yes, it’s true, you’ve got a chronic condition, haven’t you? It must be really tough on you.” “You’ve been like that for ages now. Are you okay?

I had the feeling I was being told they wanted to settle the matter this way because that was the easiest option for them.

Una vez los oí discutiendo sobre cómo podían "curarme", y recuerdo que pensé que era yo quien tenía que arreglar algo

El mundo normal es un lugar mu exigente donde los cuerpos extraños son eliminados en silencio. Las personas inmaduras son expulsadas.

Assim, sempre pensando o que precisava me curar, fui me tornando adulta.

O padrão do mundo é compulsório e os corpos estranhos são eliminados sem alarde. O seres humanos fora do padrão acaba sendo retificados.

« Your uterus belongs to the village too, you know. The only reason the villagers aren’t paying it any attention is because it’s useless. »

It was a hideous cacophony -- as though everyone had been playing the same score, but had suddenly pulled out random instruments and begun playing them instead.

I guess anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to

Society is continually judging us.

But once they get it into their heads that I'm not normal, since they all think they are normal they'll give me a hard time about it, won't they?

Bagiku diam adalah cara terbaik, seni hidup paling rasional untuk menjalani hidup.

Sekalipun tidak punya teman di sekolah, tidak berarti aku menjadi sasaran perundungan.

What the crap?

Le patron utilise souvent le terme "utile", si bien que j'en viens à me demander s'il s'applique à moi. Peut-être mon travail vise-t-il à faire de moi un outil dont on puisse se servir.

Bir şey tuhafsa, insanlar çamurlu ayaklarıyla girip o tuhaflığın nedenini çözme hakkını kendinde buluyor. Bu beni fazlasıyla rahatsız ediyor; sinir bozucu, küstahlıktan başka bir şey değil.

En el interior de aquel nítido acuario, la tienda seguía funcionando como un mecanismo automático. Al visualizar aquel escenario, los sonidos de la tienda resurgían dentro de mis tímpanos, me tranquilizaban y me ayudaban a conciliar el sueño. Por la mañana volvía a convertirme en una dependienta, un engranaje de la sociedad. Aquel trabajo era lo único que me permitía ser una persona normal.

Hearing her pry like this, I got the feeling that somehow she was still hoping for some kind of new development in my life. She was probably a bit tired of how I hadn’t progressed at all in eighteen years.

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 a peace of mind.

She’s far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality—however messy—is far more comprehensible.

The previous me—who’d never fallen in love or had sex, who’d never had a proper job—had sometimes been hard to read. But everything about the new me—the one who hd Shiraha living with her—was clear, even my future.

İki tür insan vardır. Bir yanda ayrımcılığı sert bir dürtü ve arzuyla yaşayanlar; öte yanındaysa bir şey düşünmeden bir yerlerde duyduğu lafları satmaya çalışıp ayrımcı terminolojiyi kullanmaktan öteye geçemeyenler..

Masyarakat tidak memperbolehkan adanya objek asing. Itulah yang membuatku menderita selama ini. Padahal aku tak menyusahkan siapa pun. Hanya karena aku minoritas, dengan gampangnya mereka mau memerkosa kehidupanku. Shiraha

Well, how are you?” my mother went on. “You spend all day on your feet, Keiko. It must be tiring. Um, how have things been lately? What’s new?” Hearing her pry like this, I got the feeling that somehow she was still hoping for some kind of new development in my life. She was probably a bit tired of how I hadn’t progressed at all in eighteen years. When I told her everything was fine as usual, she sounded both relieved and disappointed at once.

When you work at a convenience store, people often look down on you for working there. I find this fascinating, and I like to look them in the face when they do this to me. And as I do so I always think: that's what a human is.

Diyelim ki gerçekten bunaldım, bu onların söylediği gibi anlaşılabilir sıkıntılarla sınırlı değildi fakat hiçbiri o kadar detaylı düşünmek istemiyordu. Böyle anlamak onlar için daha kolaydı, bu yüzden böyle kabul etmek istiyorlardı.

These past two weeks I’d been asked fourteen times why I wasn’t married. And twelve times why I was still working part-time. So for now I’d decide what to eliminate from my life according to what I was asked about most often I thought.

I caught sight of myself reflected in the window of the convenience store I'd just come out of. My hands, my feet—they existed only for the store! For the first time, I could think of the me in the window as a being with meaning. "Irasshaimasé!

Shiraha, until just a moment ago you were going along with it, weren’t you? But when push comes to shove it’s hard after all? Well, I guess anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering.

El mundo normal es un lugar muy exigente donde los cuerpos extraños son eliminados en silencio. Las personas inmaduras son expulsadas. […] Cada vez me costaba más entender qué era el «mundo». Incluso tenía la sensación de que era un concepto imaginario.

So, will I be cured if I leave the convenience store? Or am I better staying working there? And should I kick Shiraha out? Or am I better with him here? Look, I’ll do whatever you say. I don’t mind either way, so please just instruct me in specific terms.

Keep those rotten genes to yourself for the course of your lifetime and take them to heaven with you when you die without leaving even a trace of them here on earth. Seriously." "I see," I said nodding to myself, impressed at her ability to think so rationally.

I found society as annoying as he did, but there wasn't anything about myself that I particularly wanted to defend, so I couldn't understand why Shiraha was taking it out on me like this. Well, I dare say life is tough for him, I thought, sipping at my warm water.

Whenever I wake up early, I make a point of getting off the train one station before my stop and walking the rest of the way to the store. As I walk, the surrounding apartments and restaurants gradually give way to office blocks. The sensation that the world is slowly dying feels good.

Minimarket bukan hanya tempat bagi pelanggan untuk membeli barang-barang yang mereka perlukan, melainkan juga harus menjadi tempat yang memberikan kesenangan dan kebahagiaan ketika pelanggan menemukan barang yang disuka. Aku berjalan mengelilingi minimarket dengan cepat sambil mengangguk-angguk.

Getting fired from a casual job in a convenience store at his age! Hopeless, really. He’d be doing us all a favor if he dropped dead, seriously.” Everyone laughed. “He really would,” I said nodding, thinking that if I ever became a foreign object, I’d no doubt be eliminated in much the same way.

Seeing how excited she was, it occurred to me that it wasn’t such a stretch to say that contemporary society was still stuck in the Stone Age after all. So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing.

Everyone here is a stupid loser. It’s the same in any convenience store. You’ll only find housewives who can’t get by on their husbands’ salary, job-hoppers without plans for the future, and the crappiest students who can’t get better jobs like being a home tutor. Or foreigners who send money home. All losers.

İnsanların gözlerinin şekli, özellikle bir şeyi küçümsediklerinde ilginç bir hal alır. Orada, karşı fikirlere karşı bir korku ve tedirginlik, bu fikirlere karşı savaşmaya hazır ışıltılar görüldüğü gibi, bazen bilinçsizce küçümseyen birinin gözlerinin üzerinde üstünlük duygusuyla zevk karışımı bir zar oluşturur.

Up until now, he's been ranting about people meddling in his life, yet here he was attacking me with the same kind of reproaches that were making him suffer. His argument was falling apart I thought. Maybe people who thought they were being violated felt a bit better when they attacked other people in the same way.

Depois de falar tão mal de quem o criticava, agora Shiraha se puseram a fazer o mesmo comigo, seguindo exatamente a mesma lógica e os mesmos valores. Não era muito coerente da parte dele. Mas talvez esse tipo de gente, que acha que está sendo violentada, se sinta um pouco melhor quando ataca outra pessoa do mesmo jeito.

Dengar, manusia yang tak punya manfaat bagi desa tak akan punya privasi. Bagaimanapun semua orang akan ikut campur. Pilihannya melahirkan anak, atau pergi berburu dan menghasilkan uang. Dan kalau tak bisa berkontribusi pada desa maka akan dianggap sesat. Orang-orang desa pun akan mencampuri kehidupanmu sesuka hati mereka. Shiraha

I find the shape of people’s eyes particularly interesting when they’re being condescending. I see a wariness or a fear of being contradicted or sometimes a belligerent spark ready to jump on any attack. And if they’re unaware of being condescending, their glazed over eyeballs are steeped in a uid mix of ecstasy and a sense of superiority.

Karena itulah aku sadar bahwa sejak Zaman Jomon masyarakat tak berubah. Mereka yang tak berguna bagi kelompok akan disingkirkan: laki-laki yang tak berburu dan perempuan yang tak mampu melahirkan keturunan. Meskipun masyarakat modern bicara soal individualisme, mereka yang berbeda harus bersiap untuk dicampuri urusannya, ditekan, dan akhirnya disingkirkan dari desa. Shiraha

No, I don’t like it. I hate it! But we live in a world that is basically the Stone Age with a veneer of contemporary society, you know. Strong men who bring home a good catch have women flocking around them, and they marry the prettiest girls in the village. Men who don't join in the hunt, or who are too weak to be of any use even if they try, are despised. The setup hasn't changed at all.

In a short-staffed convenience store, a store worker can sometimes be highly appreciated just by existing, by virtue of not rocking the boat. I’m not particularly brilliant compared to Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara, but I’m second to none in terms of never being late or taking days off. I just come in every day without fail, and because of that I’m accepted as a well-functioning part of the store.

Si j'ai pu autant évoluer en tant qu'individu, c'est grâce à l'influence des personnes qui m'entourent. (...) Tout ce qui concerne la façon de parler, en particulier, je l'apprends par imitation. Mon language actuel est un mélange d'Izumi et de Sugehara. N'est-ce pas ainsi que fonctionne tout le monde ? (...) C'est en nous imprégnant ainsi les uns des autres que nous préservons notre humanité.

it occurred to me that it wasn’t such a stretch to say that contemporary society was still stuck in the Stone Age after all. So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing. The specific form of what is considered an “ordinary person” had been there all along, unchanged since prehistoric times I finally realized.

As far as I was concerned, there wasn't any difference between my friend Miho's child and my nephew, and I didn't understand the logic of coming out all the way here just to see him. Maybe this particular baby should be more important to me than the others. But so far as I could see, aside from a few minor differences they were all just an animal called a baby and looked much the same, just like stray cats all looked much the same.

They’re all after snaring a guy who works at the same company and won’t even look at me. Women have been like that since the Stone Age. The youngest, prettiest girls in the village go to the strongest hunters. They leave strong genes, while the rest of us just have to console ourselves with what’s left. Our so-called modern society is just an illusion. We’re living a world that has hardly changed since prehistoric times. We might go on about equality of the sexes, but—

So apprently it would be better for the human race if Shiraha and I didn’t mate. Since I’d never had sex and the very thought of it was ghastly, I was quite relieved about this. I would carry my genes carefully to my grave, being sure not to rashly leave any behind, and I would dispose of them properly when I died. I was resolved on this, but at the same time it left me in a bit of a limbo. I understand the end point perfectly, but how was I to spend my time until then?

She’d never been this chatty with me before. Seeing how excited she was, it occurred to me that it wasn’t such a stretch to say that contemporary society was still stuck in the Stone Age after all. So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing. The specific form of what is considered an "ordinary person" had been there all along, unchanged since the prehistoric times I finally realized.

I’d noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy. If I went along with the manager when he was annoyed or joined in the general irritation at someone skiving off the night shift, there was a strange sense of solidarity as everyone seemed pleased that I was angry too. Now, too, I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara’s faces: Good, I pulled off being a “person.” I’d felt similarly reassured any number of times here in the convenience store.

I’d never experienced sex, and I’d never even had any particular awareness of my own sexuality. I was indifferent to the whole thing and had never really given it any thought. And here was everyone taking it for granted that I must be miserable when I wasn’t. Even if I had been, though, it didn’t follow that my anguish would be the obvious type of anguish they were all talking about. But they didn’t want to think it through that far. I had the feeling I was being told they wanted to settle the matter this way because that was the easiest option for them.

Dünyanın ne zamandan beri böylesine yanlış bir hal aldığını öğrenmek için tarih kitapları okudum. Yakın çağ,yeni çağ, orta çağ... Ne kadar geriye gidilirse gidilsin dünya yanlışlardan ibaret. Ilkel çağlara gidilse bile." "Işte o zaman farkına vardım. Yaşadığımız dünya ilkel çaglardan hiç farkh değil. Köyün işine yaramayan insanlar silinir gider. Ava çıkmayan erkekler, çocuk doğurmayan kadınlar.... Günümüz dünyasına bak. Sürekli bireyselliğe vurgu yapılır ama köye aidiyet göstermek istemeyen insanların yaşantılarına karışılır önce, sonra zorlamalar gelir, en sonundaysa köyden kovulurlar.

As we were chatting in the back room, her gaze suddenly fell on the ballet flats I was wearing. "Oh, those shoes are from that shop in Omotesando, aren't they? I like that place too. I have some boots from there." In the back room she speaks in a languid drawl, the end of her words slightly drawn out. I bought these flats after checking the brand name of the shoes she wears for work while she was in the toilet. "Oh really? Wait, do you mean those dark blue ones you wore to the shop before? Those were cute!" I answered, copying Sugawara's speech pattern but using a slightly more adult tone.

stay in a convenience store, you have to become a store worker. That’s simple enough, you just wear a uniform and do as the manual says. And before you say anything, it was the same in Stone Age society, too. As long as you wear the skin of what’s considered an ordinary person and follow the manual, you won’t be driven out of the village or treated as a burden.” “I haven’t a clue what you’re blathering on about.” “In other words, you play the part of the fictitious creature called ‘an ordinary person’ that everyone has in them. Just like everyone in the convenience store is playing the part of the fictitious creature called ‘a store worker.’” “But that’s painful. That’s why I’m so bothered by it.

I am?” “Why are you letting an unemployed man live in your apartment? It’s okay for both husband and wife to work, but not in a casual job! Aren’t you going to get married? What about children? Get a proper job! Fulfill your role as an adult! They’re all going to be on your back now, you know.” “Nobody in the store has ever talked to me like that before.” “That’s because you’re just too far out there. A thirty-six-year-old, single convenience store worker, probably a virgin at that, zealously working every day, shouting at the top of her lungs, full of energy. Yet showing no signs of looking for a proper job. You’re a foreign object. It’s just nobody bothered to tell you because they find you too freaky. They’ve been saying it behind your back, though. And now they’ll start saying it to your face too.” “What?” “People who are considered normal enjoy putting those who aren’t on trial, you know. But if you kick me out now, they’ll judge you even more harshly, so you have no choice but to keep me around.” Shiraha gave a thin laugh. “I always did want revenge, on women who are allowed to become parasites just because they’re women. I always thought to myself that I’d be a parasite one day. That’d show them. And I’m going to be a parasite on you, Furukura, whatever it takes.” I didn’t have a clue what he was going on about. “Well anyway, what about your feed? I put it on to boil, and it should be done now.” “I’ll eat it here. Bring it to me, please.

I was taking on the form of a person that their brains all imagined as normal.

contemporary society was still stuck in the Stone Age after all. So the manual for life already existed. It was just that it was already ingrained in everyone’s heads, and there wasn’t any need to put it in writing. The specific form of what is considered an “ordinary person” had been there all along, unchanged since prehistoric times I finally realized.

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.

The baby started to cry. My sister hurriedly picked him up and tried to soothe him. What a lot of hassle I thought. 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.

Our so-called modern society is just an illusion. We're living a world that has hardly changed since prehistoric times.

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.

Maybe I am working because I want to be a useful tool

I realize now. More than a person, I’m a convenience store worker. Even if that means I’m abnormal and can’t make a living and drop down dead, I can’t escape that fact. My very cells exist for the convenience store.

You eliminate the parts of your life that others find strange— maybe that's what everyone means when they say they want to "cure" me.

Even when I'm far away, the convenience store and I are connected. In my mind's eye I picture the brightly lit and bustling store, and I silently stroke my right hand, its nails neatly trimmed in order to better work the buttons on the cash register.

So that was it: now that she thinks he's "one of us" she can lecture him. She's far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems, than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine. For her, normality--however messy--is far more comprehensible

I’d noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else, they all seemed happy. If I went along with the manager when he was annoyed or joined in the general irritation at someone skiving off the night shift, there was a strange sense of solidarity as everyone seemed pleased that I was angry too. Now, too, I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara’s faces: Good, I pulled off being a 'person.

Without a career or a husband, you’re of no value to society, and people like you get expurgated from the village. 'Uh-huh.

At that moment, for the first time ever, I felt I'd become a part in the machine of society. I've been reborn, I thought. That day, I actually became a normal cog in society.

Deep down I wanted some kind of change. Any change

I’d noticed soon after starting the job that whenever I got angry at the same things as everyone else

Oh, the meat’s burning. The meat!” Miho shouted, distracting everyone’s attention and, relieved, they all began helping themselves to meat. Everyone was biting into the meat that had been sprayed by Yukari’s husband’s saliva.