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Keiko Furukura describes the Hiiromachi Station Smile Mart shes worked at for 18 years as though it were her boyfriend. She tells of how the whirring of the freezers and the beeping of the coffee machine ceaselessly caress my eardrums. And when alone at night in her small, pokey flat, she dreams so much of the brightly lit and bustling store that she begins to shape herself to please it: I silently stroke my right hand, its nails neatly trimmed in order to better work the buttons on the cash register.

Keiko is the emotionally detached star of Sayaka Muratas Convenience Store Woman, which in 2016 with the help of Ginny Tapley Takemori became the first of her 10 Japanese novels to be translated into English. Prior to getting hired at the Smile Mart aged 18, Keiko was a societal outcast who lived life in such utilitarian terms that she often horrified those around her. When as a kid she found a pretty bird dead in the school playground, her first instinct was to grill it for dinner. As a teacher struggled to break up a fight between two students, Keiko whacked one of them over the head with a spade, so hard there was blood. She gets older and fantasises about silencing her sisters wailing baby with the small knife they just used for slicing birthday cake. If it was just a matter of making him quiet, it would be easy enough.

It is only in the transparent glass box of the convenience store that she finds acceptance and purpose. On her first day, Keiko receives a uniform and a manual that prescribes her behaviour right down to the scripted interactions she must have with customers. Certainly. Right away, sir! she chimes. Thank you for your custom! She finds fulfilment in the easy rhythmic chugging of daily tasks. Stacking fizzy drink cans high. Pushing the sale of mango-chocolate buns because they are on offer. Making more croquettes than usual because people prefer them when theyve gone cold. The whoosh and thump of the fridge doors slamming under her fingertips. The glint of the light on the floor shes shined. She believes she can hear the stores voice telling me what it wanted, how it wanted to be. I understood it perfectly.

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Through her work, Keiko is able to ape the actions of a normal person and thus assimilate into a society she had hitherto been pushed out of. I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs Izumi and Sugawaras faces, she says after mirroring their anger at another employees failure to restock shelves properly. Good, I pulled off being a person. Id felt similarly reassured any number of times here in the convenience store.

She is so good at her job, devoting herself so wholly to its demands, that any self that exists outside of work begins to slip away into nothing. Keiko becomes like an electronic arm on a machine, picking up and putting down when its buttons are pressed. I automatically read the customers minutest movements and gaze, and my body acts reflexively in response, Keiko thinks, as she predicts from the motion of a shoppers hand that he will pay on card.

While initially Keiko goes to the Smile Mart in order to fit in, as she reaches 36, her family worry about her lack of prospects. Staying there starts to seem like an act of defiance. Worried about the fate of her work, Keiko takes useless shop worker Shiraha home with her, hoping that having a fake boyfriend might get everyone to leave her alone. Hes a greasy, lazy slob who says things that wouldnt sound out of place on an incel Reddit thread. The youngest, prettiest girls in the village go to the strongest hunters, he says, reeling off another Jordan Peterson For Dummies-style theory. They leave strong genes, while the rest of us just have to console ourselves with whats left. Feeding off her finances like a tapeworm, Shiraha eventually convinces Keiko to quit her job for a better paid one and its a breakup which leaves her devastated.

Convenience Store Woman is a gothic love story for our times, not with a vampire, a ghost or a zombie, but with those temples of consumption that glow on the edges of street corners, promising short queues and reliable products. Its capitalism kink and it makes readers anxious. How easily we are charmed by the allure of efficiency. The smooth running of the machine. Productivity distilled to its most concrete essence. But its not a manifesto, so Furukura withholds judgement and gives us permission to enjoy the love story from the bottom of its Plasticine pink heart. At least thats something you cant buy.

Heres what some of our readers thought...

May, 34, Leeds

So much of the time, in life, we are taught to want more, but in seeking it often you only get less. I work in marketing, which is supposed to be a good job, but often I miss the calm regularity of my days working in the supermarket. The coronavirus has highlighted our reliance on key workers such as shop staff. When I worked there, I didnt have any anxiety that what I was doing was useless. I feel useless often in my office job. Keiko knows the importance of what she does.

Emily, 22, London

Keiko is meant to be the weird one but as the novel progresses, you realise it is more everyone around her who is odd. Why are they so obsessed that she get a better job when she is happy? Why does she need a boyfriend or a baby? The only thing I think is a bit disappointing is that this critique of society is channelled through a character whose inability to relate to others ordinarily would be read as autistic. You dont have to have a developmental disorder to think that our fixation on career, marriage, childbirth is strange. I do too!

Matt, 45, Newcastle

Often when we work, we become not human. People dont see you when youre in a uniform. You speak in a way thats more like a robot than a person. Sometimes its relaxing it takes you out of the anxieties of wanting more, that you should make a podcast, get a new outfit. But another kind of work is possible, one where Keiko could gain pleasure not because shes erased but because shes allowed to become more herself.

Our next Indy Book Club pick will be voted for by you. Send your thoughts to annie.lord@independent.co.uk

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The Indy Book Club: Convenience Store Woman is a gothic love story with a sickly capitalist kink - The Independent

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Free-agent defensive end Everson Griffen remains in a holding pattern. The 32-year-old has been linked to Seattle but not many other teams has he looks for a new NFL home.

The Cardinals reportedly have interest in Griffen, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

Arizona is trying to boost a defense that needs plenty of help. Given all the attention devoted to Chandler Jones, Griffen would likely see some favorable matchups and, at a minimum, one-on-one opportunities.

Chad Graff of TheAthletic.com recently explained that Griffens status has been influenced in part by the inability to make visits to teams. As Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman told #PFTPM in the aftermath of the draft, the door isnt closed on a return to Minnesota; however, the Vikings lack the cap space to give Griffen the kind of deal he may expect.

Griffen has 74.5 sacks in 147 career games. He had a career-high 13.0 sacks in 2017.

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Cardinals reportedly have interest in Everson Griffen - NBCSports.com

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Ideology has been a big incentive for action over the course of history. We know that humans have fought over scarce resources, but they also have a strong system of beliefs that they are willing to defend at high costs. But how they get their belief system is a different conversation that has to do with the fundamental question brought up by American political scientist Harold Lasswell: Who gets what, when and how? He argues that the ruling elites engage in forms of power and manipulation against the counter-elites, and thus, ideology comes into the picture.

If we look at the state of ideology over the 20th century, we can see that more than 100 million people were killed as a result. Im not going to get into the details, but you get the idea of how it went down. So, you have a group of people who think that other groups ideals are so corrupted that there is no way to change them. And what do they do? They try to eliminate them. Im mainly talking about World War II, but the same thing was happening during the Cold War two big nations fighting for two different ideologies.

Moreover, looking at the state of ideology today, here in the U.S. we have two main political ideologies: left wing, with liberals and the Democratic party, and right wing, with conservatives and Republicans. People tend to have their belief systems deeply ingrained in those ideologies. For example, we have both sides arguing as to why the other side is corrupt. Sound familiar? But now we have a new phenomenon occurring that is partly the consequence of the internet and social media. This is the popularization of ideological representatives. And Im not talking about government or religious figures. This is a part of a collective thinking that is guided by the chosen ones the ones who are selected by the public, or the ones whom the public allows to do their thinking for them.

A clinical psychologist and professor from University of Toronto, mostly notorious for his debates on political correctness, female wage gap and gender pronouns. His main view on bettering the world has to do with fixing yourself. He believes that people need to work on personal responsibility and bettering themselves first, and in this way they can better the world around them.

Quotable phrases: Make your bed! Clean up your room!!

A Slovenian Philosopher and researcher at the University of Ljubljana, also known as the most dangerous philosopher in the West. He is more notorious for his work on continental philosophy, political theory, Marxism, Hegelianism and theology. Zizeks work deals with ideology and he thinks that in order to better the world one needs to stop indulging in ideology. He believes that ideology consists of the wrong ways we try to define reality and a post-hoc rationalization of why institutions do what they do.

Quotable phrases: If you want to get rid of ideology, first you have to beat yourself.

Peterson argues against the postmodern neo-Marxist position held by, in his terms, the radical left. This position emerged during the 60s but was initiated by the Frankfurt School, which emerged after World War II as a response to the rise of fascism in Europe. It had notable members including Herbert Marcuse and Theodor Adorno, who used a Marxist and Freudian (psychoanalysis) framework for analyzing the world around them. Nevertheless, the position Peterson has a problem with is the idea of how oppression is the result of nefarious actions by the elites. Peterson believes that this belief creates a victim mentality that doesnt do the world any good.

On the other hand, Zizek is a Marxist. He supports the notion that capitalists generate profit by exploiting the labor classes. This said, Zizeks view on the postmodern condition is different than Petersons. He thinks that our ideology is the product of our discomfort with our present condition. And our present condition being part of a capitalist system smartly divides a nation into ideologies to keep the people in place. Nevertheless, the two go face to face in a debate on Marxism.

Watching the chosen ones have a debate in a big auditorium is something that reminded me of a sports event. Whenever Zizek made an argument, those rooting for him began screaming, and the same for Peterson. It was a competition from the audience as to who could chant and scream harder. I dont know if they were listening carefully to what the two were saying.

Petersons way of speaking is carefully executed. He takes great care with his tonality, and he is concise and tries to give out secure and bold statements. I think that being a psychologist helps him understand how to control peoples attention. On the other hand, Zizek is an experience to watch. His ticks and mannerism are eccentric and eclectic. His way of speaking consists of simultaneously squeezing his nose and grabbing his ears followed by his thick Eastern European accent. I couldnt understand certain things he was saying.

When it comes to who won the debate, it is important to point out the following: Peterson opened by saying basically that Marx and Engels only considered the economic aspect of society. This is wrong if your topic of debate is Marxism. In fact, Marxism is grounded on historical (Hegelian), religious, political and economic implications. It is noted that Marx wrote thousands upon thousands of pages to make his point. But the most important thing I want to say is that here you have a chosen intellectual completely unprepared to have an intellectual discussion. And for some reason, people end up clapping and screaming in favor of Peterson. For some reason, the people in the event were oblivious to the topic of debate and were focusing on satisfying their system of beliefs via Peterson.

Nevertheless, the two had things in common when it comes to the current state of identity politics in the United States. They both kind of agree on the dangers of the excesses of the victim mentality in the left.

I understand that people dont have the time to read entire volumes on Marxism or whatever the topic may be. I understand that people are busy with their jobs and lives, and moreso in this pandemic. But it is important to notice the conformity sometimes people choose when it comes to reinforcing their belief system. By this, I mean that people seldom engage in critical thinking. People let others do their thinking for them, which is evident in the case of Peterson or Zizek.

If I can propose something, its that you consider the context and possible motivations behind an ideology. Even your own. Try to understand why people want certain things and why they are acting in certain ways. The reason for this is because there is danger in letting a small group of people do the collective thinking for the majority.

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Amidst the Peterson-Zizek Debate, We Should Still Think for Ourselves - Study Breaks

In an ACL reconstruction procedure, the surgeon normally takes a hamstring tendon from the same leg of the injured knee to rebuild the ACL. But scar tissue around the Amelias knee prevented that. So the doctor had to go into the right hamstring to draw the tendon.

I think thats what upset me the most, Amelia said. I was like Dont let her cut into my other leg! But she did anyway.

Tommy added: It wasnt like she had a choice.

The second surgery brought good news. Amelias meniscus had begun to regenerate It was kind of like a miracle, Amelia said but that also meant a slower rehab process to allow the meniscus to fully heal.

Normally, people who have ACL surgery are off crutches after a week or two, Amelia said. But I ended up on crutches for about four months.

Shed also miss an additional three weeks of school.

After her injury, the Renners quickly got Amelia into see a counselor.

We said all along that the emotional part was going to be the hardest part, Tommy said. These kids, they work their whole childhood for this dream, and now the dream is gone.

Amelia said those discussions have helped, as well as talking with other athletes. Her physical therapy group ranges from patients 22 years old all the way down to a 9-year-old who blew out her knee playing rugby.

Shes even reached out to others, like Hockinson football player Peyton Brammer, who suffered a knee injury about a month after Amelia did. Amelias cousin is Micah Paulsen, a teammate of Brammer on Hockinsons boys basketball team.

When I found out that Peyton got hurt, I sent this big long text to my cousin and said please send this to Peyton, Amelia said. The surgeon who did my surgery did Peytons too. And then later, Peyton ended up in my group PT.

These discussions, Amelia said, helped her realize there is more to life than playing sports.

Now Im just a student; Im no longer a student-athlete, she said. Im no longer the athlete that I was, and Im never going to be the athlete that I was again. For me, the biggest part is realizing that.

As one of the sports she played when she was younger, Amelia opted to play golf at Prairie last spring, earning second-team all-league honors.

Prairie golf coach Paul Shapard told her if she put a quarter of the amount of time she put into volleyball into golf, she could maybe play at college, Tommy Renner said.

So last summer, as she worked to strengthen her volleyball skills, Amelia also took golf lessons.

After her injury, Amelia thought golf might allow her to remain a student-athlete at Prairie.

When she finally ditched the crutches in January, she was cleared to begin chipping and putting. By April, she got the go-ahead to start a full golf swing and return to high school sports, once she got a brace for her knee.

Like one of those braces linebackers wear, Amelia said.

Then the closure of schools, and with it all of spring sports, ended that dream.

But missing school is what hurt most for Amelia.

I had already missed a third of the beginning of my senior year, and now Im not going to have the rest of it, Amelia said. Its awful.

She worked so hard last summer to make her senior year of volleyball special, and in the first match, it was taken away.

Now working hard to get healthy enough to play golf, that was lost before it could even start.

But her athletic journey might not be over yet.

Last week, as she was resigned to just being a college student and attend Dixie State in Utah, Amelia was contacted by the volleyball coach at Ottawa University, a small NAIA school in Kansas, with a scholarship offer to play volleyball and golf.

I called my doctor and asked her about it, Amelia said. She said golf, Im confident you could play anytime now that you have your brace. Volleyball, youd have to redshirt a year and see. I cant guarantee that you could come back and play at that level. But Im not saying you cant do it either.

Amelias parents are apprehensive about the idea of her returning to volleyball.

But ultimately, the decision is hers to make, Tommy said.

Amelia added: For me, now, having the opportunity to play in college, something Ive dreamed about since seventh grade, and not taking it might be something I regret further down the road. So thats where Im stuck right now, trying to decide if its worth the risk.

Its another twist in a winding road for Amelia Renner over the past year.

In the end, she just hopes her story might help others just starting down their own road to recovery.

I want other kids to know theyre not alone, she said.

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Focus set on recovery: Prairie volleyball player shares story of recovery from ugly knee injury - The Columbian

Amid lockdown, Netflix has unveiled a sexy series that you can binge while staying at home. Too Hot to Handle (Netflix) is the all-natural conclusion of years of fact TELEVISION shows. It is Love Island, cut to its leanest and also meanest, and also it is Love Is Blind, with its pseudo-educational streak. These youngsters, created in the fitness center, embellished with ditsiness and also glossy hair, reach appreciate a desert-island hideaway, with the twist that they should pass up all sexual activity: no kissing, no touching, no masturbation. If they break the guidelines since training course they do the prize fund is lowered from its beginning point of $100,000. There is a sliding range of penalty. The larger the criminal offense, the bigger the fine. The hope is that, at the end of it, these formerly sex-loving, relationship-rejecting men and women will experience some woolly concept of personal growth.

Everything concerning it is awful. The truth that not having sex on TELEVISION now counts as a challenge to be overcome is an unlike the stimulating days of Big Brother in its prime, when an under-the-table encounter made front-page news though we have actually been inching in the direction of it for many years, on various programs, through blurry night-vision fumbles under a wobbling, incriminating quilt.

The all-seeing emperor right here is a beefed-up house aide called Lana, an Alexa-alike undoubtedly invented in Gilead, that brazenly informs participants that she is collecting their personal data and that reports on any kind of clandestine fumbles at mock-stern camp summits, doling out the fines accordingly. The conspiracy theory theorist in me was appalled by how much the program talked about this security, as if attempting to get visitors used to it. Lanas puritanical, cod-psychology affirmations about the benefits of abstinence are annoying at surface area level, as well as also worse when you see how much the program nudges the participants towards having sex at every turn, simply for the phenomenon of it. There are so many grim close-ups of eager, digging tongues that this show will do more to promote social distancing than any one of the federal governments main posters.

The point, according to the snarky narrator, is to take the most popular, horniest, most commitment-phobic swipesters and compel them to create much deeper and also much more meaningful links. The real point, clearly, is to gin up drama as well as sex-related stress amongst people the program hopes youll be incapable to look away from, even while the commentary (and the participants themselves) inform you theyre despicable. The programs real takeaway, though, is something else entirely.

In a peculiar twist, truth television finally echoes the present fact. The entrants, shuttered away from world, prohibited from seeking the physical intimacy they crave for concern of producing a tragedy that extends better than themselves, are essentially social distancing. As Well Hot to Deal with, which launches today, isnt a show about changing superficial pick-up musicians. Its a show about quaranthirst.

Series similar to this are improved the likability of the contestants. With a couple of exceptions, this great deal make you despair for the future of mankind: Haley from Florida has a tattoo on her back in another language, however she does not understand which one. Matthew from Colorado is a monogamy-rejecting Russell Brand-lite that definitely wishes to inform you regarding a Jordan Peterson podcast. Harry from Queensland is so immature that I hope they checked the day of birth on his ticket; he says things like All I wan na do is some rowdy sex to her, after that sticks his tongue out as well as looks confused.

It does not take wish for the candidates to go a little bit Lord of the Flies. They exist regarding each other, purposely deplete the reward fund, as well as mainly resist the programs attempts to nudge them towards discovering more regarding themselves. As I stated, whatever concerning it is horrible.

The participants have actually all been raised on fact TV and clearly know the tropes well: theyre playing a role as opposed to being themselves. The voiceover, by comic Desiree Burch, wishes to have its cake as well as eat it, buffooning whats in front of it while staying completely invested in the activity. However the episodes are short, snack-like as well as disgustingly bingeable. I did not really feel good concerning demolishing all eight episodes, nor can I stop myself doing it. It will, undoubtedly, be enormous.

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Too Hot to Handle on Netflix is undeniably Sexy in Quarantine - The TeCake