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Product Description
Book Description
With the publication of <I>Kitchen,</I> the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. <I>Kitchen</I> is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father) Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.
In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, "Kitchen" and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.
In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, "Kitchen" and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.
About the Author
Banana yoshimoto was born in 1964. She is the author of N.P., Lizard, Amrita, Asleep, Goodbye Tsugumi, and, most recently, Harboiled & Hard Luck. Her writing has won numerous prizes around the world.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Moving,
By
This review is from: Kitchen (Paperback)
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto actually consists of two stories: Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow. Kitchen is just barely over a hundred pages long, and Moonlight Shadow is forty-four pages. Like her other novel, Hardboiled and Hard Luck, Kitchen is also about loss and moving on. Kitchen is well written and makes a great short read. Both of the stories are written in first person, so I was able to experience the emotions that the characters felt: their loneliness, their despair. I was hoping for more of an ending from Kitchen, but I sort of knew what would happen.**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS** Kitchen is about Mikage Sakurai, whose parents are dead, and she was taken in by her grandparents. Her grandfather passed away, and then her grandmother. Now, Mikage is all alone, with no living relatives, with only the kitchen to console her. The sound of the refrigerator makes her forget her troubles, and allows her to sleep peacefully. While grieving, she meets Yuichi Tanabe, a man that goes to the same university as her, who used to know her grandmother, who helped her at the funeral. Mikage is taken in by Yuichi and his "mother," Eriko. They form a family, but suffer more loss. Moonlight Shadow is about Satsuki, who has just suffered the loss of her boyfriend of four years, Hitoshi. She cannot sleep properly, and she started going jogging every morning. Satsuki meets an odd stranger, Urara, and then there is Hitoshi's eccentric younger brother, Hiiragi, who will help her deal with her loss in a surprising way. Kitchen teaches you that no matter what happens, you have to continue living, because loss is a part of life. Some passages I liked: "Although I was raised with love, I was always lonely." (21) "The night was so deathly silent that I felt I could hear the sound of stars moving across the heavens." (31) "...[T]his moment, too, might become a dream." (41)
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Bookish Thoughts...,
By
This review is from: Kitchen (Paperback)
"The place I like best in the world is the kitchen." So begins Banana Yoshimoto's off-beat, quirky yet charming novella. Both "Kitchen" and its accompanying story, "Moonlight Shadow," feature protagonists coping with grief and searching for comfort in seemingly endless uncertainty. But neither story imparts hopelessness; rather, they both highlight the daily joys of food, laughter, friends and city streets. I very much enjoyed the "Japanese style" of this book (brilliantly translated by Megan Backus) - its deceptive simplicity underscored with evocative imagery, whimsy and poignant philosophy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews) 16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twin Souls,
By Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kitchen (Paperback)
When my friend Mini sent me this gift, I wanted to immediately loose myself in the pages. I kept thinking it was truly a book I would want to read all in one sitting. I wanted to curl up on a couch and have my two cats sleeping at my feet and how right I was!Once I started reading, (my husband sound asleep, cats sleeping at my feet, and the house deathly quiet except for the quiet humming of the refrigerator), I was immediately drawn into Mikage Sakurai's world. Banana Yoshimoto uses luscious descriptions of food and kitchens. She describes people and places with such poignancy, you truly feel connected to them. Her thoughts burst onto each page with such honesty, you cannot help but fall in love with her innocent, charming writing style. There are life and death issues in "Kitchen," we can all relate to. Her evocative writing will fill you with nostalgia for some of the cooking spaces you have perhaps left behind. Mostly I love my grandmother's kitchen best. The familiar creak of the oven door, the scooting sound of the chairs as we sit for a cup of tea, and the racks of cookbooks patiently waiting on the shelves. To imagine this kitchen without my grandmother was to imagine the entire house without a soul, without love, and without peace. This is the emotion Mikage feels as she sleeps on the floor in her grandmother's kitchen. After loosing her grandmother, Mikage is lost, lonely and depressed. Her soul longs for the comfort of another soul who can understand her torment. She feels as though death surrounds her and she cannot escape. For a time she finds happiness with Yuichi, who knew her grandmother well. He is living with his mother Eriko. Mikage goes to live with them until she can learn to handle her emotions. Yuichi's girlfriend is not impressed, even though the relationship is purely platonic on the surface. Deep within their souls they are soon to become twins, bearing the scars of a common life experience. Banana Yoshimoto's writing is fresh, real and casts a spell on the reader. I would have preferred the book to end on page 105. She does truly seize hold of your heart and I wanted the book to either end or I wanted one more chapter in place of Moonlight Shadow. I found the second book did not belong with the beautiful yet somewhat unfinished story of Yuichi and Mikage. I think you will agree. In fact, I suggest that when you get to page 105, you close the book and come back later to read the second story. I find her writing to be most inspirational when she has fully developed her characters. To truly appreciate this book, you must love food and kitchens, that is the magic. ~The Rebecca Review 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartbreaking and beautiful,
By Ashleigh Renee "book stealer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kitchen (Paperback)
From the first page you are effortlessly thrust into Yoshimoto's universe. Mikage, whose parents and grandfather passed on earlier in life, has been living with her grandmother. The start of the book is a bit after her grandmother has died,leaving her alone in her old house and in life. Yuichi, a friend of her grandmother's, appears to invite her to live with him and his mother. Mikage agrees and the three live together for a while in bliss. When tragedy hits this newly-formed 'family,' Mikage and Yuichi learn what it is to be absolutely alone.Yoshimoto's characters are crisp and unique, each with their own good-humored twists. The situations these unfortunate characters are dragged into are unbelievabally tragic, yet their responses, both emotional and physical, remain believable and poignant. I started reading Kitchen around 1AM, wanting to read a few pages before sleeping. I didn't turn off the light until I'd read all of it, and my pillow was soaked with tears. It is one of the best books I've ever read. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely book,
By Aldo R. Santamaria Galaviz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Kitchen (Paperback)
This is a really easy-to-read book that in very few pages let's you get to know the two main characters very well.I found interesting how this two people who apparently had nothing to do with each other life puts them in a place where they become family . I thought it was a lovely story. |
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