Sayaka Murata

As a child, Natsuki doesn't fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn't be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too. Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a "baby factory" but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them. Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world, and cements Sayaka Murata's status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe.

As a child, Natsuki doesn't fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn't be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too. Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a "baby factory," but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them. Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world and cements Sayaka Murata's status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe.

As a child, Natsuki doesn't fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn't be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too. Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a "baby factory," but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them. Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world and cements Sayaka Murata's status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe.

Med letthet og språklig eleganse skildrer Sayaka Murata den spesielle atmosfæren i en 24/7-kiosk i verdensmetropolen Tokyo. Suksessromanen Døgnåpent er både en kjærlighetshistorie og et originalt blikk på moderne arbeidskultur og det sosiale presset vi alle utsettes for fra omgivelsene. Keiko har aldri passet inn, verken hjemme eller på skolen. Men da hun som tenåring begynner å jobbe på døgnkiosken Smile Mart, faller ting på plass. Henrykt over å få være et sted der reglene for normal oppførsel er krystallklare (det meste er nedfelt i arbeidsinstruksen), går Keiko inn for å bli den perfekte medarbeider. Kolleger kommer og går, mens Keiko blir værende. Nå som hun er blitt 36, synes venner og familie det er på høy tid at hun skaffer seg en ordentlig jobb og ikke minst en mann. En stor beslutning presser seg fram. Men vil den egentlig gjøre livet bedre? Internasjonal litterær sensasjon som har solgt nær én million eksemplarer, og nå er under oversettelse til 35 språk.«7-Eleven-versjonen av Madame Bovary …» John Freeman, Literary Hub «Briljant … Ikke ett ord for mye, ikke ett for lite.» Die Zeit

Redan som barn var Keiko Furukura annorlunda. Nu är hon 36 år, har aldrig haft en pojkvän och har jobbat i den lilla närbutiken i arton år. Hennes föräldrar är oroliga och önskar att hon skulle skaffa sig ett riktigt jobb. Och hennes vänner undrar varför hon inte träffar någon och gifter sig. Men Keiko har hittat sitt eget sätt att ge livet mening, och hon tänker inte låta någon eller något komma emellan henne och närbutiken. Hur mår fröken Furukura? är lika mycket en varm och rolig kärleksförklaring till en udda figur som en allvarlig fundering över vad det innebär att leva ett "normalt" liv. SAYAKA MURATA (f. 1979) är en av Japans mest prisade och omtalade författare och har vunnit bland annat det prestigefyllda Akutagawa-priset. Tidigare har hon själv arbetat som biträde i en närbutik i arton år. Hur mår fröken Furukura? är en en internationell bästsäljare och den första romanen av Sayaka Murata som översätts till svenska. "Jag tyckte jättemycket om den! Vissa stunder blir så galna i hennes tankar att jag fnissar till, saker som är logiska för henne men udda för alla andra. Det är en berättelse om att inte passa in i mallen som samhället sätter och hur man kan hitta sin egen mening i livet. Jag rekommenderar den om man vill ha något lite annorlunda som dessutom går väldigt snabbt att läsa!" Vargnatts bokhylla blogspot "Helt klart en udda bokpärla från Japan." Caroline Engvall, Fönstret"Ett sällsynt nöje: en litteraturpris-vinnare som även är en bladvändare ... briljant, rolig, och gullig." Vogue "Härligt knasig ... oemotståndlig." Observer "Drömsk." New Yorker "Uppiggande udda och kul." Sally Rooney

Med letthet og språklig eleganse skildrer Sayaka Murata den spesielle atmosfæren i en 24/7-kiosk i verdensmetropolen Tokyo. Suksessromanen Døgnåpent er både en kjærlighetshistorie og et originalt blikk på moderne arbeidskultur og det sosiale presset vi alle utsettes for fra omgivelsene. Keiko har aldri passet inn, verken hjemme eller på skolen. Men da hun som tenåring begynner å jobbe på døgnkiosken Smile Mart, faller ting på plass. Henrykt over å få være et sted der reglene for normal oppførsel er krystallklare (det meste er nedfelt i arbeidsinstruksen), går Keiko inn for å bli den perfekte medarbeider. Kolleger kommer og går, mens Keiko blir værende. Nå som hun er blitt 36, synes venner og familie det er på høy tid at hun skaffer seg en ordentlig jobb og ikke minst en mann. En stor beslutning presser seg fram. Men vil den egentlig gjøre livet bedre? Internasjonal litterær sensasjon som har solgt nær én million eksemplarer, og nå er under oversettelse til 35 språk.«7-Eleven-versjonen av Madame Bovary …» John Freeman, Literary Hub«Briljant … Ikke ett ord for mye, ikke ett for lite.» Die Zeit

Språk: Japanska As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn’t be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too. Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a “baby factory” but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them.

The surprise hit of the summer and winner of Japan's prestigious Akutagawa Prize, Convenience Store Woman is the incomparable story of Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident who has been working at the Hiiromachi "Smile Mart" for the past eighteen years. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but in her convenience store, she is able to find peace and purpose with rules clearly delineated clearly by the store's manual, and copying her colleagues' dress, mannerisms, and speech. She plays the part of a "normal person" excellently--more or less. Keiko is very happy, but those close to her pressure her to find a husband and a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action. A sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures we all feel to conform, Convenience Store Woman offers a brilliant depiction of a world hidden from view and a charming and fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.

International bestseller, nu i 12. oplag. Keiko er 36 år, single og arbejder i en døgnkiosk i Tokyo. Hendes familie og venner vil så gerne have, at hun bliver normal, dvs. finder et mere interessant job, gifter sig og får børn. Men Keikos drømme går i en anden retning; hun elsker sin døgnkiosk og er godt tilfreds med sit liv. Døgnkioskmennesket er et tankevækkende og underholdende portræt af det japanske samfund i dag." Elegant social komedie med filosofisk og kritisk potentiale. En af den slags romaner der virkelig formår at skrive læseren ind i en mulig måde at være i verden på." - Politiken, 5 hjerter"En moderne fabel om at være normal i en unormal verden, der kalder sig normal." - Jyllands-Posten, 5 stjerner

The surprise smash hit - Japan's answer to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

"Konbini Ningen / Convenience Store Woman" är en tankeväckande och fängslande roman som utforskar livet för Keiko Furukura, en kvinna som finner tröst i att arbeta på en närbutik. Murata skickligt utforskar teman som samhällets påtryckningar, konformitet och identitetens komplexitet. Genom Keikos unika perspektiv kastar författaren ljus över kampen att passa in i samhällets normer. Denna bok erbjuder en djuplodande utforskning av individualitet och sökandet efter tillhörighet, och lämnar läsarna att reflektera över gränserna för samhällets förväntningar.

Språk: Japanska The surprise smash hit - Japan's answer to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

"Konbini Ningen / Convenience Store Woman" är en tankeväckande och fängslande roman som utforskar livet för Keiko Furukura, en kvinna som finner tröst i att arbeta på en närbutik. Murata skickligt utforskar teman som samhällets påtryckningar, konformitet och identitetens komplexitet. Genom Keikos unika perspektiv kastar författaren ljus över kampen att passa in i samhällets normer. Denna bok erbjuder en djuplodande utforskning av individualitet och sökandet efter tillhörighet, och lämnar läsarna att reflektera över gränserna för samhällets förväntningar.