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Kitchen Paperback – April 17, 2006

by Banana Yoshimoto (Author), Megan Backus (Translator)

2,672 ratings

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"Ms. Yoshimoto's writing is lucid, earnest and disarming. ... [It] seizes hold of the reader's sympathy and refuses to let go." -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

With the publication of Kitchen, 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. Kitchen 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.

From the Publisher

	LIZARD	HARDBOILED & HARD LUCK	AMRITA	NP	GOODBYE TSUGUMI

Customer Reviews	68	224	72	62	398
Price	$15.66	$10.64	$9.99	$12.59	$15.81
	“Banana Yoshimoto is a clear genius.”—San Francisco Chronicle	“Taken together, these two novellas form a sparkling book.” –Washington Post	“Yoshimoto shouldn’t be shy about basking in her celebrity. Her achievements are already legend.” —Boston Globe	“[An] ethereally mesmerizing . . . novel of Japan’s Generation X.” —Chicago Sun-Times	“A rollicking good read.” –O Magazine

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Ms. Yoshimoto’s writing is lucid, earnest and disarming . . . [It] seizes hold of the reader’s sympathy and refuses to let go.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Banana Yoshimoto is a master storyteller. . . . The sensuality is subtle, masked, and extraordinarily powerful. The language is deceptively simple.” —Chicago Tribune

“Yoshimoto shouldn’t be shy about basking in her celebrity. Her achievements are already legend.”—The Boston Globe

“A meditation on the transience of beauty and love…Melancholy and lovely.” –The Washington Post Book World

From the Back Cover

A scathing comedy of social striving in the suburbs, Absurd Person Singular follows the fortunes of three couples who turn up in each other's kitchens on three successive Christmases, to hilarious and devastating effect.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press (April 17, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802142443
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802142443
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 710L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.5 x 7.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #41,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #399 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #2,055 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #3,711 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
2,672 ratings

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Customer reviews

2,672 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's short stories that weave together beautifully, describing it as a fantastic read with honest writing that deals with love and longing. Customers find it a dreamy read about grief and loss, with one review noting its tour de force novel grappling with death. Customers appreciate how the characters' actions feel relatable and the book's moving pacing.

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Story quality Readability Writing style Emotional depth Creativity Pacing Relatability Comfort

34 customers mention "Story quality"29 positive5 negative

Customers enjoy the stories in this book, describing them as interesting and excellently crafted, with two narratives that weave together beautifully.

"...Yoshimoto creates a story filled with beautiful metaphors and musings on life after you lose someone close to you...." Read more

"...Her short debut novel makes for a touching, uplifting read." Read more

"...yourself into it as deep as you want, giving you the amount of details about each scene that allows you to fully understand the setting and what is..." Read more

"...to find a simplistic fairytale rounding up of an otherwise very well told story which was all of itself quite well constrained...until it wasn't..." Read more

30 customers mention "Readability"30 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable to read and consider it one of their favorite books of all time.

"Good Book" Read more

""Kitchen" by Banana Yoshimoto is a fantastic read...." Read more

"...This was a pretty unique read, but it feels like it touched my soul." Read more

"I liked the stories in the Kitchen. The author is young and is a good writer. I liked the 3rd story in this collection of Novellas the most...." Read more

23 customers mention "Writing style"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it striking and easy to read, with one customer noting how it deals with themes of love and longing.

"...I'd highly recommend this book. It was an easy read, done in a day, but the content was enough to keep me thinking far longer than that." Read more

"...Her short debut novel makes for a touching, uplifting read." Read more

"...An excellent work of fiction, "Kitchen" tells the a story that is easy to read, but at the same time very profound. "..." Read more

"...The magical realism of Tokyo pervades the prose. I liked it; it is deceptively simple." Read more

11 customers mention "Emotional depth"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's emotional depth, describing it as a dreamy read about grief and loss, with one customer noting how the author runs through all the emotions.

"A beautifully poignant and dreamy read about grief and loss...." Read more

"What beautiful and haunting language surrounding themes of grief, loneliness, isolation, time, and moving on...." Read more

"Interesting book exploring the themes of loss and family. I thought it was ok i didn’t really connect with it." Read more

"...style of the author made me want to just keep reading and never have either story end! This definitely has become one of my favorite books!" Read more

8 customers mention "Creativity"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the creativity of the book, describing it as beautiful and evocative, with one customer noting its use of beautiful metaphors.

"...Yoshimoto creates a story filled with beautiful metaphors and musings on life after you lose someone close to you...." Read more

"Banana Yoshimoto has written an evocative, dreamlike exploration of love, loss, suffering, hope and renewal, using food preparation in kitchens as a..." Read more

"What beautiful and haunting language surrounding themes of grief, loneliness, isolation, time, and moving on...." Read more

"...Inviting the reader into a private world where imagination, innocence, and pure intention take over becomes a magical ride that is both moving and..." Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive1 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book moving.

"...surrounding themes of grief, loneliness, isolation, time, and moving on. This was a pretty unique read, but it feels like it touched my soul." Read more

"...and pure intention take over becomes a magical ride that is both moving and gripping; I could not put this book down." Read more

"...This must have been written by very young, childish and inexperienced girl. it was pretty stupid." Read more

"Whimsical, Moving, Relatable...." Read more

4 customers mention "Relatability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters' actions relatable, with one customer noting how the youthful characters are severed from traditional relationships.

"...The thoughts and actions of the characters seemed so relatable and normal, like things I would do and say in the same situation...." Read more

"...Kitchen is a GenX novel, its youthful characters severed from traditional relationships: family, marriage, career...." Read more

"I was really drawn in by both these stories. The characters feel very real, and she created an experience of the main character's world that wasn't..." Read more

"...I love all the characters and their stories. The book also includes a second shorter story." Read more

3 customers mention "Comfort"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book comfortable to read.

"...It speaks on so many things and is just a really comfortable and great book...." Read more

"This book is all feeling...." Read more

"Comfort Food..." Read more

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Amazon Customer
Suitable for junior high school students
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
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Good Book

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Kindle Customer
A beautiful portrayal of grief
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2012
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I've seen some reviews that say the book seems childish, but I have to disagree. Simplicity can be exactly right and I think in this situation it worked perfectly. Yoshimoto creates a story filled with beautiful metaphors and musings on life after you lose someone close to you. This version actually includes two stories, not one, the first of which is called "Kitchen."

"Kitchen" follows a young woman after the death of her grandmother as she tries to find happiness and direction again. The writing is simple and at times short, but it seems fitting to someone who is grieving and gave the narrator an even stronger voice. I found the narrators love of kitchens especially charming and real. The thoughts and actions of the characters seemed so relatable and normal, like things I would do and say in the same situation.

I found the second story "Moonlight Shadow" to be even more touching and graceful. I underlined a good portion of the end, saving it up for my own purposes because the writing was that striking. In this story, Yoshimoto writes about a girl who has lost her boyfriend and thinks back on their memories as she tries to keep living.

I'd highly recommend this book. It was an easy read, done in a day, but the content was enough to keep me thinking far longer than that.

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18 people found this helpful

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Dale Miller
Comfort Food
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2009
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Mikage Sakurai has had an uncertain childhood, losing both her parents while she was very young and being raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather, too, died when she was entering junior high. A few years later her grandmother dies leaving her alone, without any family.

As Mikage is contemplating what to do next, Yuichi Tanabe, a classmate who helped out at her grandmother's funeral, visits her. He invites Mikage to come stay with him and his "mother." Yuichi's mother Eriko turns out to be a transgendered former male (Yuichi's father). She works in a nightclub. With no particular plan or direction, Mikage decides to take up the offer and spends long days alone contemplating the ceiling while Yuichi is at class and Eriko away at work or sleeping.

Mikage adjusts to life at the Tanabe's and comes to value the friendship of these odd, nonconforming Japanese. Yuichi is moody and depressive, a needy soul who becomes deeply attached to Mikage's friendship. Eriko's style is high camp. She loves making frivolous purchases, especially electronic gadgets. Eriko loves Mikage with a kind of offbeat quasi-maternal affection. The household is shocked when Eriko is killed, murdered at the nightclub where she works.

While she is staying at the Tanabe's Mikage purchases a set of instruction books on cooking and immerses herself in a serious attempt to become a skilled cook. After Eriko's death, when she comes back to the Tanabe apartment and spends a few days with Yuichi, she prepares an enormous meal of numerous courses, which they devour over several hours.

Not long after Eriko's death, Mikage finds a dream job as an assistant to a well-known culinary author and television personality. She is asked to accompany the sensei and other staff on a trip to Izu Peninsula to sample the local cuisine. Mikage jumps at the chance.

Mikage leaves for Izu, but once there she phones Yuichi who has gone to an inn not far from Izu to be alone. He complains about the food at the inn, which consists entirely of tofu dishes. Mikage happens on a katsudon shop where the specialty is exquisitely prepared. On an impulse, she orders an extra portion to go, hails a cab and makes a lengthy trip to Yuichi's inn. He is surprised, eats the katsudon and declares it to be the best he has every tasted. Before she leaves to ride the waiting cab back to Izu, Mikage tells him obliquely that she would like their relationship to grow and deepen.

When she returns, Mikage receives a phone call from Yuichi who has gone to great pains to find out where she is staying. He asks her for her time of return to Tokyo and the platform where her train will arrive, promising to meet her. On this upbeat, optimistic note the story closes.

Kitchen is a GenX novel, its youthful characters severed from traditional relationships: family, marriage, career. In their place, they form deep, if not necessarily permanent, bonds of friendship, based on mutual help and acceptance between people struggling to get by in a fragmented world.

The kitchen serves as a symbol of peace and comfort, a place where Mikage can forget the difficulties that she faces and lose herself in her artistic creation. It also brings together the disparate personalities in a union based on shared enjoyment of food. Banana Yoshimoto handles this with great warmth and sensitivity. Her short debut novel makes for a touching, uplifting read.

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16 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer
More poetry than prose, a story of discovery, love, loss, and renewal.
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
While the language carried me away at times, I found the rhythm of this storytelling hard to follow. Time itself seemed like a river with rapids, circles of whirlpools with sections of rapid flow and twists and turns. I prefer a more linear storytelling narrative style.

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Yu_Has_Mich
Ponder
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2024
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I know it may sound trite to declare "Ponder the nature of impermanence", because now I can say "Feel the nature of impermanence" and know there are no words to fill the voids that seem to inevitably appear on our journey through life, but this book brought some of mine back. What can I say, it was painful. Would I recommend this book, yes indeed because more will appear than the words of the story.

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SERDAR
No Wear
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025
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This book is very clean and has no wear.

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Omar
Excellent!
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2008
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"Kitchen" by Banana Yoshimoto is a fantastic read. I read it as part of an Introduction to Japanese Culture class at MIT, and I must say it was one of the most entertaining reads I've had to do for a class. The world created by Yoshimoto is mysterious and thrilling. An excellent work of fiction, "Kitchen" tells the a story that is easy to read, but at the same time very profound. "Kitchen" tells the sad story of two young people and how after losing their families they come together to support each other. The story is written in a way that allows you to submerge yourself into it as deep as you want, giving you the amount of details about each scene that allows you to fully understand the setting and what is happening.

Banana Yoshimoto's "Kitchen" is a book that must be read by anyone looking for an excellent fiction book, and is a must read for anyone interested in Japan and Japanese culture. Although it might not teach you directly about Japanese culture, the fact that this book has sold millions of copies in Japan is something that will make you wonder what it is about it that the Japanese found so appealing.

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2 people found this helpful

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Marisa Desbesell Ientz
Exelente
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2025
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Muito bom

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Marryelli
Que livro, meus amigos!
Reviewed in Brazil on September 4, 2023
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Chegou no tempo esperado, sem nenhum problema. Como era usado veio com cheiro de livro antigo (o que é super esperado, mas tem gente que não gosta)
A história é maravilhosa! Trata luto e amizade e a escrita é de uma delicadeza incrível!
Mal posso esperar pra ler outras obras da autora!

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Yapchungla
If u like the cover buy it, you'll like the story too.
Reviewed in India on July 17, 2021
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This was my first book by Banana Yoshimoto, and I haven't been disappointed. Kitchen is a short poignant tale about a girl named mikage sakurai and her encounters with tragedy and love. The depth is surreal and glides at the opening of the entire vessel. Yoshimoto's style involves vivid details and stunning depictions of an everyday japanese life. A must read.

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Sergi
A great novel
Reviewed in Spain on April 17, 2024
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I’m in love with all the novel written by Yoshimoto

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Amazon Customer
KITCHEN
Reviewed in Australia on January 1, 2025
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Quirky and wonderful.

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Dadis
Found My Hero Author ~ This book is a gem!
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on August 6, 2024
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Kitchen leads you to reflect and to dig deeper on your feelings, but it doesn't let you wallow in despair. It gives you just the right amount of light to save you, to live life...🩵🌿

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5.0 out of 5 stars Que livro, meus amigos!

5.0 out of 5 stars If u like the cover buy it, you'll like the story too.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel

5.0 out of 5 stars KITCHEN

5.0 out of 5 stars Found My Hero Author ~ This book is a gem!

Que livro, meus amigos!

If u like the cover buy it, you'll like the story too.

A great novel

KITCHEN

Found My Hero Author ~ This book is a gem!