A review by pandaintheshelves
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

I gotta start saying this one was hard to read and even more difficult to review, but I'll try my best ๐Ÿ™Œ

๐Ÿ’– What I liked:

โœจIt was nice to read a book about a neurodivergent character with a first person POV. We are never told exactly what flavour of neurospicy the protagonist is, but from what is described I'm guessing autism.

โœจ I enjoyed the insightful critique of the societal norms and peer pressure to conform. There was a powerful message there, concerning how we're expected to fill a certain mold, to perform at a certain level, at the cost of our mental and physical health sometimes ๐Ÿฅบ

๐Ÿฅน It was heartbreaking to read how she was losing herself in that process ๐Ÿ˜ญ Watching her losing perspective of who she really was and what she really wanted was difficult, ngl. And how the world around her became more "accepting" the more she distanced herself from her wants and needs infuriated the heck out of me ๐Ÿ˜”

๐Ÿ“š What I missed (this is mostly based on my personal preferences, so take it with a grain of sault, please) 

๐Ÿซ‚As a neurodivergent woman myself it's a bit tiring to only see autistic coded characters with an overwhelming lack of empathy when we know this is not (as we thought at some point) an inherent trait. Especially not in AFAB individuals, because most of us  are socialized differently (amongst many other factors). 

๐Ÿค”Having said that, I understand neurodivergency and autism itself is part of a spectrum, and I'm not invalidating the author or anyone else's experience. I'm just saying it's the representation I've seen the most and I think this could have been a great opportunity to go in a different way๐Ÿค”

๐ŸŽ Wrapping up:

๐Ÿ™This book offers an opportunity to learn about how masking works and why is so useful and harmful at the same time when you're a neurodivergent person. It also has very funny moments and a hopeful and powerful message about embracing and loving yourself.

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