The Convenience Store by The Sea by Sonoko Machida — A Book Review

Book diary-review

Translation by Bruno Navasky, A Masterclass in Translating Without Trace

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I’m honestly going through withdrawal symptoms after finishing this book. I read it slowly, deliberately refusing to let it end. It has been successful in keeping my heart warm in beautiful cold weathered Tasmania.

Overview

Set in the sleepy seaside town of Mojikō, Kitakyushu Japan, the book unfolds in whimsical yet profound vignettes centred around a convenience store called Tenderness, whose tagline reads: “Caring for People, Caring for You.”.

The Main Cast

• Shiba, the heart of the story. He is the store’s enigmatic manager. Not classically handsome nor overtly charismatic but inexplicably magnetic. Customers, regardless of gender find themselves besotted with him. This pull they feel defies logic.
• Mitsuri, also known as Mrs Kanao is a part-time worker and a nocturnal manga artist. Intrigued by Shiba’s allure (that doesn’t affect her), she captures this phenomenon in her creation Phero Manager’s Indecent Diaries. Her manga becomes a…