Of Darkness and Stars

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Breen, Sally
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2021
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Abstract

Japanese author Sayaka Murata erupted onto the world stage in 2016 with the release of Convenience Store Woman, a novel which sold over a 1.4 million copies. As is often the case with non-Western authors who achieve sudden global recognition, the depth and breadth of her oeuvre was downplayed in favour of a narrative of overnight success. Easier to sell the story of an unknown author who has walked out of a vacuum and just begun, but this is not the case. Sayaka Murata published her first book Breastfeeding in 2003, has published eleven novels in Japanese since then and won all of Japan’s major literary awards. But until recently only two of her novels had been translated into English. Muraka herself worked in a convenience store throughout her literary career and would have continued to do so but was forced to quit when she was stalked by a crazed fan. In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, she said she had become attuned to the rhythm of working and ‘found it hard to sit around all day writing.’ In the pictures that accompany the article her expression is blank, something I find curious. In nearly all the other available images of her online she is animated, smiling, cheeky. It’s as if The Guardian wanted to project a particular stereotype of a demure Japanese woman, even though she’s known for work which openly satirises patriarchal systems and attitudes, particularly the reduction of people to ‘nesters’ and breeders.

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Sydney Review of Books

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Creative arts and writing

Creative and professional writing

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Breen, S, Of Darkness and Stars, Sydney Review of Books, 2021

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