The Convenience Store by the Sea
by Sonoko Machida
Translated by Bruno Navasky
To purchase: Amazon | Bookshop.org.
- we may receive a small payment if these links are used at no extra cost to you.
Publisher: Orion
What It’s About
The Convenience Store by the Sea is a novel made up of interconnected vignettes set in a small seaside town in Japan. At the center is a 24/7 convenience store called Tenderness, a place that quietly anchors the community.
The book follows the store’s employees and customers as their lives brush up against one another through ordinary days. People come in for food, for coffee, for something quick. Over time, you start to see how much care is wrapped into those small exchanges.
What Stuck With Me
I really loved this book. And yes, I needed it.
One of the first things that struck me was how grounded it is. There’s no magical realism here, no symbolic layer standing in for the story. It’s about people paying attention to each other and stepping in when they can. After reading a run of much heavier books, that felt genuinely restorative.
What makes it work is the sense of community. The employees remember names. They notice when someone’s routine changes. They check in. They help in ways that feel practical and believable.
That kind of care stayed with me. Not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s steady. It shows up in small ways. A meal. A conversation. A place where someone knows you.
I also loved the food details. Egg sandwiches, coffee, ramen, parfaits, odd little combinations that only someone who spends real time in a convenience store would think to try. It all adds to the feeling that this is a lived-in space, not a setting built for effect.
More than anything, this felt like a caring book. That’s the word I keep coming back to. It isn’t trying to teach you anything. It’s just showing what can happen when people decide to look out for each other, even when they don’t have to.
Would I Recommend It
Yes.
This is for anyone who likes healing books and wants something gentle and meaningful without magical realism. If you’re tired, or burnt out, or just want to spend time with characters who treat each other decently, this is an easy book to recommend.
My takeaway
Sometimes what you need most is being around people who care.
If you like this book, you may also like:
The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin
Days at the Torunka Cafe by Satoshi Yagizawa
Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hye
