As she thinks back, she realises “it was the first time anyone had ever taught me how to accomplish a normal facial expression and manner of speech.” She had a detailed manual that told her exactly how to behave in the store. She was good at mimicking the behaviour shown in the training videos and for the first time in her life she fitted in perfectly. On her first day of training, Keiko found she picked up the procedures quickly. One day on her way home, she saw a new convenience store being built and applied for a part time job. Eventually Keiko graduated high school and started university. At least she had her younger sister who adored her. Keiko’s family unsuccessfully tried therapy, then having no other idea how to ‘cure’ her, just showered her with loving attention. But eventually being quiet and having no friends also became a problem and worried her family more. At first this worked, especially Keiko’s habit of not speaking a word more than absolutely necessary. Eventually she realised her lack of understanding made her parents sad and so she retreated, she stopped trying to contribute, and resolved to either just mimic everyone else’s behaviour or simply follow instructions without question. Each time something like this happened, she thought she was doing something useful and had no idea why everyone else seemed so upset with her. Early in the book she remembers incidents from her childhood: she suggested her mother cook a dead budgie for dinner she hit a classmate over the head with a spade to stop a fight. She knows that she was born into a normal family and brought up in a normal suburban area, so it has always been a mystery why she cannot just be normal. What is normal? This is something which has bothered Keiko Furukura, the main character of Convenience Store Woman all her life. Shiraha to Keiko – page 89 – Convenience Store Woman 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.” People who don’t fit into the village are expelled: men who don’t hunt, women who don’t give birth to children.
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