It’s a generalization, but books from different parts of the world do seem to have a collective sensibility.
I rarely enjoy literature from Russia, but I love almost everything I’ve read by Japanese authors.
The latest find from Japan is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. This oddly wonderful book features Keiko Furukura, a young woman whose first love and only true friend is the convenience store where she works. Keiko misses most social cues, which caused her many troubles as a child. Since that time, she has learned to cover up her differences by staying quiet and mimicking others.
Her perfect cover turns out to be working in a convenience store. Every interaction with customers is scripted and her job has a strict routine. She excels at the store, but as years pass, she feels increasing pressure to conform — to move from a dead-end job, get married and have children. In this quirky and darkly funny tale, Keiko comes up with several illogical ways to handle her situation, including entering a sham marriage with a deadbeat who sleeps in her bathtub.
This book is heavy on symbolism, and left me wondering why her family doesn’t understand her better, or let her know she doesn’t have to conform to be of value. But that’s the joy of reading books from other cultures, what may seem obvious to us, may not be the right solution elsewhere.
My second choice for this month is a sequel to a book I reviewed in 2016. Esther the Wonder Pig chronicled the adoption of an abandoned teacup pig into a couple’s small home in Toronto’s suburbs. This mistakenly-identified miniature pig grew into an 800-pound commercial hog.
Rather than give up their beloved pig, Steve and Derek put their adventures on social media. Of course, a pig with her own cupcake-themed bedroom went viral. In the end, they use Esther’s fame to fundraise and buy a farm. The sequel, Happily Ever Esther by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter and Caprice Crane gives the dirt on life at the animal sanctuary — dealing with wild escapes, a growing menagerie of pigs, donkeys and goats, overzealous volunteers, and animal lovers from around the world.
As with most sequels, Happily Ever Esther doesn’t quite live up to the first book. But, it’s still worth spending time with these wide-eyed and warm-hearted people who are willing to go to such amazing lengths to stand up for their beliefs and their beloved pig. How Canadian!
Heather Allen is a writer and reader who lives in Penticton. She can be reached at allenh@telus.net.