「音」から「声」へ : 村田沙耶香の『コンビニ人間』を読む

In Sayaka Murata's novel Convenience Store Woman, the heroine, Keiko Furukura, is a woman chained by the three shackles of being a virgin, unmarried and a part-time worker. To Furukura, the convenience store is a holy place that enables her function as a "normal part of society". There are various kinds of sounds in the store such as music. However, her encounter with Shiraha causes discord and her belief in the convenience store is shaken. Led by a "heavenly voice" in the convenience store, her conscience is awakened just as she quits the job and is about to surrender to society. She turns down a proposal from Shiraha and becomes a convenience store woman in a true sense. This novel expresses the author's reflection on rebellion against modern society and the concern of humanity with a sense of humor.